The Matriarch of Destiny
by JPMod
Summary: By surviving the Uchiha Massacre, one woman changed the path of destiny. AU
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :) No copying of my story is allowed. That's stealing if anyone copies my story into his/her own story. Write your own story without taking others' works! (angry glare)

Story rating: M (R)(for adult themes, sexual and blood)

**If sentences are all bold like this, this means it's being told in 1****st**** person in a book.**

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The Matriarch of Destiny  
Prologue  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

"Naruto!" Sakura called out to her teammate.

Without stopping his hectic journey, as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, the blond shinobi gazed over his shoulder to spot his female teammate and Hinata behind him with worried expressions. "What is it, Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan?" he asked before turning back to watching where he was going.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" the Hyuuga heir asked for herself and her fellow kunoichi, her long bluish hair waving in the wind as she raced to keep up with the teenage boy she had long admired.

Sapphire eyes narrowed in concern. "Something's wrong. I can feel it!" He was not an overly superstitious person by nature. He had a silly fear of ghosts when he was a child, but since there were things in this world that couldn't be explain in any rational terms, like the existence of the Byjuu, Naruto had developed least a healthy respect to not underestimate the powers of the unknown. It was why when his tea mug had shattered by itself in Tsunade-baachan's office, he knew it was a troubling sign of something very bad had happened.

Sakura and Hinata became even more concern upon hearing his answer. They couldn't understand what has caused the confident boy to be so anxious. Yet as they rushed along the village's rooftops, it was clear to both exactly where they were heading… The Uchiha Estate.

With dark storm clouds rolling in overhead, the teenage trio arrived, as they jumped over the walls and landed in a clearing of the large, traditional, ranch home. Naruto led the way through the front door and began a frantic search, calling out her name.

The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki quickly went through the kitchen, the living room, and the bedrooms, as he slid shoji doors open with some force. Yet so far, he and his two companions have not found her.

However, as Naruto sped along the outside wooden walkway, that ringed the mansion-like house, his nose picked up a familiar scent. A scent that made the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and sent a chill down his spine. No shinobi could go through life without recognizing the stench of blood anywhere, and this smell made his heart pounded harder and ran toward the odor's source emanating from the estate's dojo.

With his two female friends just behind him, the blond reached the dojo's outside entrance and nearly slammed the shoji doors opened. What greeted their eyesight brought a large shock to their systems, eyes going wide. Sakura gasped, Hinata brought a hand over her mouth, and Naruto felt his heart clenched as his eyes began to water uncontrollably.

In the center of the dojo laid the black-haired kunoichi, her body, still in her kunoichi uniform, was faced down, arms stretched outward with her long hair splayed all around her head and upper body. Yet what scared the three teen ninjas was what they saw pooling underneath the older woman… blood. Lots of blood. **Her** blood.

"MIKOTOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Naruto with tears pouring out of his eyes as a crack of lightning and thunder occurred in the sky behind him, before he rushed toward the woman, who changed his life, as well as many others in Konoha.

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**Destiny. It's a word that has shaped human existence since the dawn of time. Many have always believed that once a person is born, that person has a required destiny already in place for that person to follow. The person can still mold and shape his or her life, but no matter the choices made, he or she can not break from the path of destiny that awaits the individual. **

**However, regardless the destiny, some believed the path can be altered. The path will still be the same, heading toward that same destiny, but it is the shape of the path that changes. Most of the time, it is shaped by the individual traveling the path, yet rarely by outside influences. Yet those outside influences can have a dramatic affect on the individual. They can be an event that ran differently, another individual doing something differently, someone born or died, or making a small decision, as say being somewhere else at a certain time. **

**I'm not writing to say anything philosophical but to tell a story. A story that many believe would have been written much differently regarding the path of destiny a legendary Konoha Hokage had taken from the very day he was born. A path filled with pain & sorrow, friendship & love, and triumphs & defeats.**

**Yet this is also the story of the woman, who is known in history as the person who altered the path of destiny of a boy and in the process, reshaped that boy's life dramatically. Not only was his path reformed, but also the path of a great shinobi village, leading the way toward the birth of a new clan, which would eventually become one of the strongest clans in all of Konoha. **

**This is her story. By making a simple decision, she escaped Death and became the one who reshaped a life forever. **

**Her name is Uchiha Mikoto… The Matriarch of Destiny.**

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To be continue (End of Prologue)

A/Ns:

1) Welcome to my latest Naruto fanfic "The Matriarch of Destiny". The idea for this fic has been floating in my head for several months, and the concept is quite simple. I've read plenty of fics exploring the 'What If' scenario of one or both of Naruto's parents surviving the Kyuubi attack, but I have not read any fics that explore what would happen if one of **Sasuke's parents** survives the Uchiha Massacre. So out of the two, I thought Uchiha Mikoto would be a great candidate. She is not only a kunoichi, but also a soft and caring woman from what I've seen in the manga and anime. With no background to go on, as it is with Naruto's parents, Mikoto would be ideal to explore as a character and how she could influence future canon events, namely on shaping Sasuke and Naruto.

And for anyone thinking she should be just as bad as her husband, I say there is nothing in the manga and anime to say this is even true. Remember Obito? He certainly was not a hard-nose Uchiha, eh? Anymore than Hinata fits the typical Hyuuga. So rest assures, I'll be exploring Mikoto's background. She'll not be a perfect angel but she'll not be a devil either.

2) I want to get this straight right from the start. There will be no romance and pairings during the whole first part of the story (pre-Time Skip Era). Naruto and all his friends are 12 and 13 years old, and I just can't see anyone of that age getting involved in any deep romance. Yeah, they'll likely start to have feelings, but I certainly can't see the concept of them having sex and such until they're more mature.

And please, Mikoto will not ever get romantically involve with Naruto when he's 9 to 13 years old. It's kind of sick. I once read a NaruMiko fic where he was only 9 years old or so and the pair had sex. Excuse me?! No boy at 9 years old can even understand sex, nevertheless engage in it!

So don't expect anything to happen between Mikoto and Naruto during the pre-Time-Skip part of the story. Maybe I'll consider it for the Shippuuden Era, but not before that. Naruto and Mikoto's relationship is like that of mother and son in the pre-Time-Skip Era.

3) Read the rating. I rated this fic M due that there will be adult themes being touch upon throughout the fic. There will be sexual themes, not to mention blood (as this prologue shown). It's necessary due to the plot development I have in mind.

4) I labeled this story as 'General/Drama' due that it is mostly generalized. There will be elements of comedy, action/adventure, drama, romance, etc. The drama will be quite high in the Shippuuden Era for what I have in mind for the plot. It'll be quite dramatic alright. ;)

5) Last, I have to say that this might become my biggest challenge yet. It'll take a long time to write up this baby, for my idea for the timeline is from the Uchiha Massacre to the Shippuuden Era. There will be some time skips along the way, but expect a long haul in some areas to develop the characters and plot.

I'm going to see in completing "Unexpected Love" first before venturing on with "The Matriarch of Destiny." It's highly likely that "Whatever It Takes II" will be put on hiatus due to my Muse wanting to do "Matriarch" badly. It very wants to do "Matriarch" soooo badly.


	2. Chapter 1: The Focal Point of Change

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :) No copying of my story is allowed. That's stealing if anyone copies my story into his/her own story. Write your own story without taking others' works! (angry glare)

**If sentences are all bold like this, this means it's being told in 1****st**** person in a book.**

Story rating: M (R)(for adult themes, sexual and blood)  
Written: April 2009 - Present

Summary: By surviving the Uchiha Massacre, one woman changed the path of destiny.

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The Matriarch of Destiny  
Chapter 1 – The Focal Point of Change  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

**As all stories, it is best to start at the beginning. I'll not hassle with trivial knowledge that one will find in a history book but the very beginning when the path was changed. It had been pointed out that it was quite ironic that the dismiss of one clan would lead the way to a birth of another, and it all began with that one clan's 'suppose' death that would forever be known as 'The Uchiha Massacre'.**

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The skies were clear with a few puffy clouds, and the air was fresh and clean. With the sun nearly on the horizon, the Konoha business section was busy as usual during this time of day; people were shopping, children, whom had came out of school, were playing or with their families, and the hustle-and-bustle of the business enterprisers could be seen and hear as they made their deals, trades, and other exchanges.

One 35-year-old woman was walking down the street casually as she scanned the stalls and shops for good deals. From first glance, anyone could make her out to be a regular housewife with the average looking attire all housewives wear. Yet this woman was no ordinary housewife. With long, black hair nearly to her hips and eyes matching her hair, she was the matriarch of the most powerful clan in Konoha, the Hidden Village in the Leafs. Her name was Uchiha Mikoto, and not only was she the wife of the Uchiha Head but also a village kunoichi, who had retired from the shinobi forces long ago.

With her right arm carrying a few bags of groceries, Mikoto continued her stroll, smiling and bowing her head in return to those who paid her respect as a clan matriarch. She was grateful that not everyone followed such practices, or else she would be bowing her head almost every few seconds. Right now, she has more important things to do, like finding a few more items to make for tomorrow's meals.

Stopping to check out a vegetable stand, the brunette woman was glad she had decided to shop in the village's business district for her purchases. Her clan's compound contained stores with everything they needed, but it was nice to venture outside the Uchiha district once in awhile. It brought a refreshing change from the usual routine.

"Mikoto?" a female voice said, snapping the former kunoichi to look up.

A warm smile came to Mikoto's face upon recognizing the other person. "Akito!" she greeted the brown-haired woman, before they each friendly hugged each other for a few moments. "How are you?"

"Doing well," Akito replied, adjusting the few shopping bags in her hands. "What about you? With your clan compound having everything, you don't need to shop outside the compound, you know."

Mikoto snorted chuckle. "That doesn't mean that I will only shop in my clan's compound, and you know it, Akito. It's a nice change of pace to venture to the village's shopping district. Seeing the same old walls gets dull once in awhile."

"Tell me about it. Kami help us if things get dull." Both women softly laughed.

Laughter dying down, Akito continued. "How's Sasuke? As you know, my son is attending the same class as he. Has Sasuke started training in your clan techniques yet?"

"Yes, he is," Mikoto answered with a proud grin. "I know he has lately just mastered the **Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Element: Grand Fireball Technique)**."

Brown eyes went wide. "And he's only 9 years old. Amazing. Does this mean he has awoken his Sharingan?"

This time the proud grin faltered into a sad frown. "No," the raven-haired woman shook her head. "He has not awoken his Sharingan, and that frustrates him to no end. You know how jealous he is of Itachi, for Sasuke very much wanted Fugaku to be proud of him as much as we are proud of Itachi." She sighed before giving a small grin. "It's good though that Sasuke looks up to his brother, or else I think he would have bickered and squabbled with him."

Akito chuckled at that, before a thought came to her mind. "Mikoto… How about you come over to my home, so we can continue our chat? It has been a long time, since we've talked together."

Mikoto's grin became a reluctant one prior to shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Akito, but I have to get home to make dinner for the family."

"And when was the last time you took a break?" the other woman pressed. "I understand about being dedicated to family, my friend, but even we mothers need a time-off occasionally." With a small reassuring smile, Akito pressed on. "It's only for a few hours, Mikoto. I'm sure Fugaku and your boys can put together their own dinner for once. You don't need to be there to coddle them all the time."

The raven-haired mother sighed. On one hand, she wanted to return home to prepare dinner for her family, but on the other hand, her friend made a good point that she could use a break. Would it hurt her family if she skipped dinner tonight to be with a friend?

After a few moments of thought, Mikoto grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, I'll join you."

"Great!" Akito chirped, before she took hold of her friend's arm to guide her away. "My husband and son are spending the night at my in-laws, so we'll be able to have some privacy."

Mikoto chuckled at her friend's enthusiasm. It would be great to chat with her and catch up with what was happening in their lives, since the last time they really sat down and talk a few months ago. Indeed, her husband and sons could make their own dinner tonight. What could possibly go wrong?

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As the sun set and the full moon began rising over the horizon on the other side, wary and tired eyes scanned over the entire village from the vantage point of the Hokage's office. They belonged to an elderly old man, who wore the red-and-white attire of the Hokage. He released a sad sigh, knowing what was going to happen soon.

"So," he said over his shoulders to the four people standing in front of his desk, while he stood in front of a window, "we have no choice."

"None, Hokage-sama," replied the monotone voice of Uchiha Itachi. "My clan will strike tonight."

"What other choice do we have, Hiruzen?" asked the elderly female voice of Utatane Koharu. "If we do not strike first, the Uchiha Clan will plunge the village into a civil war."

Danzou, an elderly man wrapped in bandages over one eye, took a few steps forward. "We tried your way, Sarutobi, but Fugaku is just too stubborn to listen to reason for the betterment of the village. The Uchiha Clan must be eliminated."

"I'm in total agreement with Danzou," said Mitokado Homura, the third elderly man in the room. "Hiruzen, my friend," he began as he adjusted his glasses, "the time for talk is over. The time to act is now."

Sadly sighing again, the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, turned around to face the young teenage ANBU captain. Sad old eyes locked on young black ones. "Itachi, I do not like what I'm going to order you to do. I know you love the village more than your clan, but we are talking about your family here."

Itachi remained still, his face emotionless. "I understand your concerns, Hokage-sama, but as your councilors and Danzou-sama stated, we have no other choice. For Konoha's survival, my clan must be stopped. All I ask is for you to spare my brother."

This surprised the Third and his ex-teammates, but Danzou didn't hesitate to speak out his views. "No! Every Uchiha must die! With you as the sole heir, you'll able to rebuild the clan rightfully to serve Konoha and not for the sake of the clan."

The young ANBU slightly shook his head. "No. Sasuke must live. He'll rebuild the clan, not me. You're forgetting that I'll be branded a rogue and hunted down. If the clan is going to rebuild, it has to be Sasuke."

The Sandaime nodded his head, seeing that the young ninja was correct. "Very well, Itachi. Spare Sasuke's life and we'll promise to watch over him. You have your order. Kill every Uchiha, except your brother. This operation is to be kept top secret."

"By your order, Hokage-sama," Itachi nodded, before he vanished, using the Shunshin no Jutsu.

Sighing again, the Head of the Sarutobi Clan turned back to gazing out the window at the village, which was now aglow with all the individual man-made lights as the last glow of the setting sun vanished and the full moon came fully into view.

"_May Kami forgive us,"_ he mentally stated with grief to the upcoming lost of life, which would make one of his best shinobi be branded a traitor for the rest of his life. He could not have ever imagined the other Hokages had to hand out such a tall order. Not ever.

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It was a nightmare. Sasuke just did not understand why this was happening. He came home to the compound only to find everyone lying dead in the streets, and after rushing into his house, he found his father dead in the middle of the dojo with his older brother standing there with a bloody katana in hand. Yet what happened next was the stuff of nightmares.

Sasuke saw his brother's Sharingan changed into the form that must be the Mangekyou Sharingan father mentioned, and the next thing he knew, he was in strange world with a red moon. It felt like it was a dream but real at the same time. He watched as Itachi slay every clan member. Every single one of them including father, and the scene repeated over and over again, like a rewind movie.

Realizing the nightmare was over; Sasuke looked at his brother before rushing him. He was punched in the gut. To the young Uchiha, it was obvious that his nii-san killed everyone, but why? WHY?!

Fearing he was next, Uchiha Sasuke ran out of his home back onto the streets. It was only then he realized he has yet to see the body of another person important to him. _"Mother! Where's Mother?!"_

Yet, as he feared would happened, Itachi caught up with him and blocked his path, and the youngest brother stared up in horror at the emotionless-looking older one standing before him.

However, instead of killing him the youngest son of Uchiha Fugaku was spared with instructions by Itachi to find the 'truth' regarding the doujutsu the clan originally served, as well as the way to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan. With final parting words, Sasuke stumbled to his brother's eyes once more and fell to the ground in complete darkness.

Yet, before the darkness of unconsciousness claimed him, he remembered what Itachi said regarding their mother prior before uttering those hateful words to hate him and despise him.

"_You should know that I couldn't find Kaasan. She's nowhere within the Uchiha Compound's walls. Other than your life, it seems Kaasan will be spared."_

Relief that his mother was alive, Sasuke slipped into oblivion with one word on his mind. _"Mother…"_

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Walking down the street with the lights of the village helping illuminate the darkness, Mikoto was humming a tune. She had spent several wonderful hours with her friend, talking about almost anything. Now on her way home, the long-haired woman felt good to least taken this break from the routine of being a housewife of the Head of the Uchiha Clan.

"_Least the human traffic is less during this time of night,"_ the Uchiha matriarch noticed as she strolled through the business section of the village. _"I'm not going to get run over,"_ she jokingly mused.

As she rounded a corner, the brunette felt a small body collided into her form, almost knocking her down with her arms carrying her grocery bags. _"I spoke too soon,"_ she fretted.

Looking down at the person, who was now sprawled on his back, Mikoto instantly recognized the boy. He have whisker marks on his cheeks, spiky golden blond hair, blue eyes, and an attire of white t-shirt, black pants, and open-toe sandals. There was hardly an adult villager who was **not** acquainted with Uzumaki Naruto.

"Are you okay?" Mikoto smiled kindly at the boy.

Naruto blinked up at the person he had crashed into, and upon seeing the kind genuine smile on her face, he nodded and smiled widely in return. "Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry about bumping into you like that." He stood up and looked at the woman closely. She seemed familiar to him. He remembered she was one of very few people who treated him with actual kindness during the few times he'd bumped into her. Yet other than that, his brain swore she was someone he should actually know by name.

The older woman chuckled and shook her head. "You ran into me, and knowing you, you must have pulled a prank on someone. Am I right?"

Chuckling nervously, the whisker-faced boy scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I did." He wondered whether he should now make a run for it, since it was possible this lady would turn him in.

Seeing his edginess, Mikoto chuckled again. "I'm not going to turn you in, if that is what you're thinking." The boy instantly deflated in relief. "Just you should be careful and watch where you're going when you run around corners, Naruto."

"Sure thing," the blond boy smiled widely with his eyes closed.

Mikoto grinned and shook her head. It was sad that most of the village treated this bright boy as a pariah, all because of the Kyuubi sealed inside him. It was not his fault the Fourth sealed the Nine-Tails in him, for Naruto was only a baby at the time. Even her clan mistreated him badly, and it was clear the boy did not know why he was being ill-treated by most in the village. There was no doubt to her that she was one of a very few, who does not speak ill of Naruto, and that was only because she was one of a tiny few, who **knew** of his parentage. Not even her own clan knew of what she knew.

Sighing, the black-haired woman hefted her shopping bags and prepared herself to walk the remaining distance home. "You better get home, young man," Mikoto instructed. "If you're going to school tomorrow, it is best you get plenty of sleep. I too need to get home. Knowing Sasuke, he will get worry about me."

Naruto's jaw went wide open, as the Uchiha matriarch took a few steps passed him. "I remember now!" he nearly yelled, causing Mikoto to stop and look back at him. "You're Sasuke's mother!" he pointed to her. "I remember seeing you a few times with him at the Academy!"

Amused, Mikoto softly laughed and nodded her head in an affirmative. "That's right, Naruto, and my name is Mikoto," she gently chided, making the boy chuckled sheepishly. "Good night, Naruto."

"Night, Mikoto-kaachan!" he returned with a grin.

Mikoto again amusedly shook her head. Many villagers would have scolded the boy for being too familiar with a clan's matriarch, and she knew her teenage self would have felt just as scandalous, knowing what type of person she had been back then. Yet for the mother of two, she didn't feel insulted, since the boy's voice told her he was not being disrespectful at all.

Before the two even began to part to journey to their perspective homes, a group of four ANBU suddenly appeared before them, startling them in the process. "Uchiha-sama!" called out the leader, who wore a dog's mask and has spiky silver hair.

"What is it, ANBU-san?" Mikoto addressed the leader. "Is there a problem?" She picked up the high tension from the four elite shinobi, and it was starting to worry her.

The dog-masked ANBU nodded once. "Yes, there has been an incident at your clan's compound."

Now she really was concerned. "Incident? What incident? Tell me what has happened!"

The ANBU leader paused for a moment before answering the question. "Your clan has been massacred, Uchiha-sama. Everyone is dead."

The bags of groceries dropped to the ground, dark eyes widening in shock as they quickly became moist. "My… My entire clan?" Mikoto whispered, thinking of her husband, her relatives, Itachi, and most importantly, Sasuke. With thoughts on his youngest child, tears began running down her cheeks. "No," she shook her head. "No…" She was about to run home, when the ANBU leader held her back with this arms. "NOOOOOOOOOO! My son!" she screamed frantically.

"Uchiha-sama, calm down!" the silver-haired ANBU reasoned as he prevented the overly anxious mother from rushing back to her home. "You can't go back home! It's too dangerous! We don't know who did it, thus the murderer could still be at large! My unit was on our way toward the Uchiha district to assist other units already there, when we spotted you! It's best you come with us to the Hokage Tower, where you'll be safe!"

Mikoto stopped struggling, the ANBU's words sinking into her brain. As much as she wanted very much to hurry home to see her youngest child was unharmed, her rational side told her that the ANBU leader was right. The Hokage Tower was the safest place for her in the village at the moment, now that her entire clan has been wiped out.

"What a minute!" Naruto's voice caught everyone's attention, and Mikoto wished the young boy was not there right now. "What happened to Sasuke?!"

"Naruto," Mikoto said, managing to get her voice not sound like it was cracking under stress and worry, "it is best you go home now. You'll be safe there."

"But—"

"Now, Naruto!" Mikoto nearly yelled, a few more tears escaping her eyes. She didn't mean to be harsh on the boy, but now was not the time for him to be concern. There was a danger in the village, and she didn't want Naruto to get involve and ending up being hurt.

The dog-masked ANBU nodded his head as he looked at the startled boy. "She's right, Naruto. The village right now is at high alert, and you'll be in danger if you stay outside for long." He turned to a female ANBU, who has long, waist-length, purple hair. "Take Naruto home, and then meet up with us at the Hokage Tower."

"Will do," the female ANBU replied, before she stepped forward to grab Naruto's arm to get him to follow her. With concerned blue eyes lingering on Sasuke's mother, the young boy took a few steps before facing about to run alongside the female ANBU toward his apartment.

The ANBU leader focused back on the Uchiha matriarch. "We're going to Shunshin to the tower. I don't think you're emotional stable to do the jutsu now, so I'll be doing it for you." Dark moist eyes looked at him for a moment, before she nodded her consent.

After the leader stood behind Mikoto and another picked up her groceries from the ground, the three ANBU and one woman teleported away in a whirlwind of leafs

The villagers, who had happened to be nearby to hear everything, immediately began spreading the word. The Uchiha Clan has been massacred. How was this possible? One has to be a very powerful shinobi in order to wipe out an entire clan, the police force of the village.

Everyone knew that things would not ever be the same again for the village. Not since the Kyuubi has there ever been a dramatic change on a large scale like this.

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Far from Konoha on a hill overlooking the village, two figures stood as they gazed at the shinobi city. Even under the moonlight, it looked so peaceful and tranquil, yet they knew that was not the case at the moment.

"Well, that certainly went well," said one figure. "It was bad timing that your mother was outside the compound tonight. Not even I can get near her without anyone spotting me. We just need to come back later to kill her."

With Sharingan eyes still looking at his now former home, Itachi shook his head. "No, there will be no need to kill Kaasan. Despite she does know of the clan's plan for the coup, I had overheard her debated with Tousan against the plan. The Sandaime and the council will not hold it against her, if she was against the plan, and knowing them, they know they can not do anything against her without rising suspicion from the general population as well as from Sasuke. To do anything against her life would likely have her tell the general population of the coup and the real reason behind the massacre, which they want to keep secret to prevent other clans, sympathetic to the Uchiha, from rising against the Hokage. To keep Konoha from erupting into civil war, they will leave her alone. To take a gamble against her life will be foolish."

"So in this case, ignorance is bliss, eh?" the mysterious man stated.

"Yes," Itachi replied. "Besides, I do think they rather have Kaasan alive to help raise Sasuke, as well as the possibility she herself will bare children with a man, who is not an Uchiha. For years, our clan has been in decline, and Sasuke was the last child born from two Uchihas. Some kept arguing that we should allow outsiders into the clan to increase the gene pool in order for the clan and our bloodline to survive." He paused to release a disapproving snort. "My grandfather, the former head, and Tousan were against the idea of letting outsiders marry into the clan. It was absurd to them. The Hyuugas occasionally allow outsiders into the clan, and it resulted with them thriving, while the Uchihas were stagnating."

Silence stretched for a few minutes. The other guy had nothing to say for something that made sense. The Sharingan was still considered a very powerful kekkei genkai, and if the Konoha council wanted to see future Uchihas born, they would be stupid to even kill off a woman, who could bare children. The more children, the better chances the village would have future Sharingan shinobi.

The quiet was broken by the young former ANBU captain. "There is another reason I see now for Kaasan to remain alive. Even though I first thought it would be best for Sasuke to be alone, thinking he will grow strong by himself with his hatred toward me, Kaasan might be beneficial in getting Sasuke to become stronger at faster rate."

The other man turned his head toward his younger companion. "That might not be wise. She is a mother, and like all mothers, she will nurture him from hatred and fear. Being a kunoichi, she will no doubt make him strong, if she does train him, but he will not likely end up being an avenger as you want him to become."

Itachi nodded. "What you said might happen, but there is a chance that he will seek revenge against me for destroying the clan. You yourself have waited for a long time to seek revenge against the clan."

"True," the other man conceded the point. He had waited a **very** long time for this moment. Helping Itachi killed off the entire Uchiha Clan fitted with his plans anyway for revenge.

Drawing in a breath, the now-rogue Konoha ninja continued to speak. "With Kaasan alive, I want you to extend your promise over her as well. Leave both her and my little brother alone."

There was a pause of silence as the other dark figure thought about it for a few moments, before he nodded in agreement. "Very well, Itachi. I extend my promise over your mother as well." He turned and walked away. "Now come. We have a long journey ahead of us."

As he walked away from the young Uchiha, the man, wearing an orange mask with one eyehole in it, mentally snorted, while his Sharingan eye, if anyone happened to look into the eyehole, was hard as steel. _"I'll keep the promise as long as you live, Itachi. Someday you'll die, whether it is at your brother's hands or some other means, and soon after that, I'll be back to kill off your mother. This I promise." _

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After dismissing the four ANBU, the Sandaime activated a privacy jutsu from a hidden seal on his desk to ensure the room was soundproof. Only then did he turn to a concerned Uchiha matriarch standing across from him on the other side of the desk. Her dark eyes were laced with sadness, no doubt from knowing her clan was massacred, but those ebony orbs also held fear in them. Hiruzen had watched Mikoto grew up to be a great kunoichi with keen intelligence, thus he knew right there she **knew**.

Gulping, Mikoto blurted out the first thing on her mind. "Are you going to kill me, Hokage-sama?"

Sighing sadly, wary old eyes held firm on her face. "You knew."

"About the coup? Yes, I knew," she verified. "Yet, I assure you that I didn't even **want** it to happen!"

"If that was the case," Danzou stepped in from Mikoto's left side, "why didn't you done anything to **warn** the Hokage, like Itachi did?"

Mikoto was shocked. "Itachi?" She let out a small chuckle. "So that's why he was acting strange. I should have known he would put the village over the clan."

The small grin dropped, and her face became firm. "To answer your question, Danzou-sama, what could I have done? The moment I was forced to marry Fugaku, I was forced to retire from active duty as a kunoichi. I lost all good connections within the shinobi force, and the few friends I have outside the clan do not have any good connections either. My clan was watchful hawks within the system, thus they would have silenced anyone the moment they suspected someone was leaking information to the Hokage. I could have done nothing.

"Itachi, now that I know, was the perfect choice to inform the Hokage. Not only did the clan trusted him completely as the most powerful Uchiha seen in generations, but he also had the best connections to pass on the information as an ANBU Black Ops Captain, who gets his orders directly from the Hokage. He was the **only one** within the clan to warn about the coup. No one else."

Danzou stepped back with narrowed eyes, Homura and Koharu nodded their heads, and the Third allowed a small grin to form on his face. Mikoto has explained masterfully her reasons, and although she was dressed in housewife garments, her firm stance and words reminded the four elders that she was not just a woman and former kunoichi but also a **clan matriarch**. She knew the way of politics, thus she was not to be taken lightly.

"Well said, Mikoto," said the Sandaime, his grin still apparent. "From your voice, I can tell you truly did not want the coup to happen." He chuckled. "Just like Itachi told me."

Four pairs of eyes went wide at this news. Danzou was the first to immediately recover as he growled at Konoha's leader. "Why didn't you tell us, Sarutobi?!"

"It was just between Itachi and me, Danzou," explained the Third without apologizing. "Itachi had overheard his parents arguing over the issue and knew his mother was against the coup." His grin faltered into sadness again. "However, he knew that even she had to die in order to make the massacre looked like he killed his clan for power. To spare her life would make people talk on why he would spare his mother and brother but not his father. In order to keep the secret, he knew she has to die with Sasuke being the only survivor, since his brother truly does not know anything about the coup."

Hearing all this, Mikoto putted together the pieces of the puzzle. "Hokage-sama…" she began in awe. "Are you saying that it was Itachi who killed his kinsmen in order to save the village and spared Sasuke because he didn't know about the coup?"

The Sandaime nodded his head in verification. "Yes, he did. Under my order, he killed his clan to prevent the coup from happening."

"If the Uchihas had succeeded, they would have plunged the village into a civil war," Koharu added.

Danzou stepped in. "With the village weakened, enemy villages would have used the opportunity to destroy Konoha from the map."

Mikoto nodded in understanding. "It's precisely what I told Fugaku." Her eyes narrowed. "The stubborn fool wouldn't listen to reason."

After a couple minutes of silence, Hiruzen gave a small warm grin at the Uchiha matriarch. "It was not planned, but by good fortune, I am glad you have not bothered to be at home tonight, Mikoto."

"To be honest, Hokage-sama, I knew my clan was staging a coup, but I didn't know **when**," the brunette pointed out. "I had gone to a friend's home tonight."

"I understand," the Third mentioned, still grinning. "As I said, it was good fortune. Sasuke will not be alone, as we thought he will be, when I promised Itachi his brother will be look after."

Relief spread throughout the raven-haired woman's being. It was good to had heard her youngest child would be spared, even though she was still saddened by the lost of the rest of her clan.

Yet, the wise, old Hokage's face became stern, and Mikoto knew he was about to say was very serious. "Mikoto… Now that you know the real reason behind your clan's massacre, you can not speak of the truth to anyone **ever**. This means you will have to forever brand your eldest son as a traitor and a murderer, even though he is really a hero by sacrificing his good name for the sake of the village's peace."

Mikoto bowed her head to leader. "I understand, Hokage-sama. If the truth came out, there still is a chance of civil war breaking out from clans sympathetic to my clan."

"Precisely, Mikoto. We can not risk it, so do not speak of this to anyone, including your youngest son."

After seeing the former kunoichi nodded that she understood, the stern Hokage's face melted into a kind one. "It is indeed good fortune you happened to be at the right place at the right time tonight, Mikoto. Even though you no longer technically have a clan, you are now **head** of the Uchihas. You can rebuild the clan with a fresh start that will not repeat the mistakes of the past. Both you and your son can seek out **others** to help **rebuild **the clan."

At first, Mikoto was baffled to what he was referring, but once she read **underneath** his words, she realized what he mean, causing her cheeks to develop a pink tint. "Oh, my," she whispered to the thoughts she was having.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Homura was sporting a small smirk, while Koharu was shaking her head at the Hokage as she muttered, "Pervert."

Mikoto felt her blush grew some more. If it had not been for her clan's stupid rule of forbidding seeking others outside the clan to marry, she would have no doubt had been felt free to pursue a handsome blond shinobi she knew during her Academy and teenage years. She mentally giggled at the thought. _"It makes me wonder if things would have come out differently. Oh, Minato."_

Danzou has to admit that he now saw a very good reason to keep the Uchiha matriarch alive. He had been thinking of ways his Root division could eliminate the woman, but Sarutobi just pointed out that the Uchiha has a very good purpose now. It would be years until her son was ready to seek out a woman to sire children, but Mikoto could able to sire children much sooner, since she was still of child-bearing age. With her and her boy being the only Uchihas left, they were free to seek outsiders to mate, thus there was a good chance now of them enable to have children and revive the clan, which might be more easier to control this time around.

The old Konoha warhawk mentally snorted. _"Even with medical knowledge staring them in the face, the Uchihas still kept to their useless rule of keeping marriage within their clan. Fertility can only go so far within a family, until it reaches a barrier. They were lucky Fugaku and Mikoto, being their two strongest members at the time, bear one child on the first try but only managed to get their second child after so many tries after four years."_

Knowing they were finished with any business regarding the coup and the massacre, the Sandaime cancelled the privacy jutsu and let out a breath of relief that it was over. He knew Mikoto would be a tough survivor, but it remained to be seen whether her youngest child would managed to emerge without any long-lasting scars.

It was perfect timing that a knock came from the door, and once the Hokage bid the person to enter, the ANBU leader, who had found Mikoto, strolled in. "Hokage-sama, the entire Uchiha district has been searched, and sadly, we found no survivors, except for one. Uchiha-sama's son, Sasuke, was found unconscious and unharmed on one street. He's now in the hospital."

Mikoto spun her head around to the Third with an unmistakable question on her face, and picking up on the unspoken query, the elderly leader gave a nod and grin of approval. "Go to your son's side, Mikoto." He then addressed the ANBU. "Inu, escort Mikoto to the hospital, and once Sasuke is awake, question him on what he knows. Maybe he saw who is responsible for this horrible crime."

"It will done, Hokage-sama," obeyed the ANBU, codenamed Inu, with a bow of his head. He gestured to the Uchiha matriarch to the door, and once Mikoto, with a quick "Thank you" to Sarutobi, exited the office, Inu immediately followed and closed the door.

The Sandaime sighed and reached down to pick up his pipe off his desk. After a quick preparation, he lit the pipe and took a good breath of the tobacco. Releasing the smoke out of the side of his mouth, he felt his body relax on the nicotine, knowing he needed this to face all the work to come with the investigation, the funeral arrangements, and the restructuring of the village's security, now that their police force was dead, not to mention the political chaos and rearranging the massacre would cause. All of this has to be done to hide the truth.

Taking another breath off his pipe, Hiruzen knew that tonight was now considered one of the most saddest and difficult times in all his years as Hokage. He knew being the village's leader would mean making very tough and sometimes unmoral decisions for the betterment and protection of 'The Family', the village's people. Yet, he wondered just how much more of his soul he could bare to sacrifice with a heavy heart.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Young black eyes slowly opened. They took in the sight of a white ceiling, and even though their owner registered that his body was a bit weak, he tried to get up but grimaced at the small amount of pain from his left arm. He now remembered his older brother has wounded his arm with a shuriken.

"Easy, Sasuke-kun," a recognizable voice spoke before two feminine hands held his shoulders. His head whipped to his right to take in the relieved and grinning form of his mother sitting on the edge of his bed beside him. "Don't strain yourself, okay?" she nearly choked out.

Seeing her safe and sound right there touching him burst the dam for the youngest Uchiha. Tears poured unchecked as he quickly pulled forward to hug his mother strongly, and he felt her hugged him back just as strongly. "MOTHER!" he yelled out, crying shamelessly onto her shoulder in relief as he deeply welcomed the touch and sight of her.

Mikoto stroked her son's head as she too poured out her emotions. It had been a long night while she stood vigil over her child's unconscious form, but by the end, it was worth the wait to see and hear him awake and okay. Holding his sobbing and shaking form in her arms was indeed worth it.

After a few minutes of mother and son pouring out their tears, they broke apart, allowing Mikoto to smile down at her son, who shakily grinned back. It was then that the face-masked forms of four ANBU near the door startled him. His mother immediately spoke to reassure the shaken child. "Don't be afraid, Sasuke. They're not here to harm us. They just want to know what you saw last night. I was out of the compound visiting a friend, so I wasn't there." She paused for a minute, knowing what she needed to ask. "Sasuke… Did you saw who done it? Who murdered our clan?"

Tears once more ran down the boy's cheeks, but this time it was out of pain and heartbreak. "It… It was nii-san." Once more he went forward to seek comfort in the arms of his mother. "It was big brother!" he sobbed, fresh tears soaking his mother's clothed shoulder. "He killed father! He killed them all! He said he did it as a test of his strength! Itachi killed them!" Unable to speak no more, he continued to pour out his grieve.

His pain made the Uchiha matriarch once more shed fresh tears too. Not only for the lost of her clan, but for the lost of her eldest son. Knowing the truth, she grieved out of heartbreak for the great sacrifice Itachi made for the village, knowing he would forever be branded a traitor and an evil person.

Turning her head enough without breaking hold of hugging her weeping child, Mikoto eyed the four ANBU and saw their heads were hung in shock and shame.

"Kami…" the ANBU leader Inu muttered. "Itachi. His body was not found, but to actually confirm it was him…"

"Have he gone insane?" asked the purple-haired female ANBU. "To murder his entire clan just to test his strength? It's the stuff of madness!"

After a few more minutes of silence, Mikoto felt Sasuke has calmed down, thus she pulled away to look into his eyes again. "Sasuke," she gently spoke with motherly encouragement, "can you tell me everything that you remember? From the moment you enter the compound to the time you fell unconscious? I know it's painful to remember, but we need to know everything as possible to what had happened."

Finding courage within himself and from his mother, Sasuke nodded in understanding, and after a moment of hesitation, he told his entire story with occasional lapses due to fear and pain gripping his being. When he was finished, the four ANBU were satisfied with what they heard.

"That's all we need to hear, Uchha-sama," Inu nodded to the matriarch. "Thank you for your cooperation, both you and Sasuke. Good day." With that said, the four ANBU left the room, leaving mother and son alone.

Feeling cold and his heart aching, Sasuke buried his head into his mother's shoulder once more. "Don't leave me, mother," he pleaded, seeking comfort from the person that meant so much to him.

Knowing what he sought, Mikoto hugged her son, giving him the warmth and love that only a mother could hand out to her own child. "I'm not going anywhere, Sasuke-kun," she soothingly replied before kissing the top of his head. "I'm not going anywhere."

As the black-haired woman continued to provide comfort to her youngest child, she turned her head slightly to the left to look out the window. It was raining now, and the weather matched perfectly with the mood of the two Uchihas and no doubt the entire village now. It was a very somber atmosphere, knowing there would be very big changes for what had happened last night, especially the family dynamics between her and Sasuke.

Yet, one of things that worried her the most was Sasuke's frame of mind. She could tell that her son left out something in his story to what had happened to him last night with his confrontation with Itachi. For now, she would not press, since he was not in any mental state to be questioned further on the subject.

However, Mikoto hope that she would able to find out soon. She couldn't help but have a bad feeling that her eldest son have told her youngest something really important. Something **very** important.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

TBC (End of Chapter 1)

A/Ns:

1) I hope this long chapter makes up for the prologue, which had been more notes than story. Those notes were however necessary for me to explain to everyone important points regarding the story.

2) For anyone's information, according to online sources, Mikoto was 35 years old on the day of the Uchiha Massacre.

Online sources also said Itachi was 17 during his first appearance in the manga and anime (when Kurenai and Asuame first confronted him and Kizame), so if Itachi was 13 when he first became an ANBU captain, it makes sense he would be least be 14 on the day of the massacre.

Sasuke was 12 at the start of the series, and since there is a five year age difference between him and his older brother, that makes Sasuke least 9 on the day of the Uchiha Massacre. With this in mind, this makes Mikoto least 26 when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha and since the Yondaime appeared to be around that age, it was easy for me to say that Mikoto knew of Minato when they were in the Academy.

3) Despite its appearance, the **Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Element: Grand Fireball Technique)** is only a C-rank technique, according to online sources. It may explain why a young Sasuke was capable to perform the jutsu.

4) After exchanging a few PMs with Perentie Fan, who made good points regarding canon information that everyone in the Uchiha Clan knew of the planned coup except Sasuke, I decided to write this chapter up to make Mikoto knew of the coup, but didn't know **when** it would happen. Plus I made her not support the coup for the same reasons the Third, his councilors, and Danzou used to stop the Uchihas, to prevent a civil war. She just couldn't do anything given her position as mentioned.

So even though the manga stated every Uchiha, except Sasuke, knew of the coup, it does not fully support the notion that every Uchiha supported the coup. It just makes common sense, that's all. Remember Obito? If he was alive, I bet he would not have supported the coup either.


	3. Chapter 2: The Fox Among the Uchihas

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :) No copying of my story is allowed. That's stealing if anyone copies my story into his/her own story. Write your own story without taking others' works! (angry glare)

**If sentences are all bold like this, this means it's being told in 1****st**** person in a book.**

Story rating: M (R)(for adult themes, sexual and blood later on)  
Written: April 2009 - Present

Summary: By surviving the Uchiha Massacre, one woman changed the path of destiny.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Matriarch of Destiny  
Chapter 2 – The Fox Among the Uchihas  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

Sleep. That was what he felt he wanted to do. Get more sleep. Yet upon hearing the alarm and seeing the time, Sasuke groaned, gotten out of bed, and began preparing for the day. Today, he would return to the Academy for the first time since the massacre, and he just knew it was going to be awkward. It had only been three days, but his mother thought that they had spent enough time mourning. It was time to get back to the daily grind that was called 'Life'.

Putting on a blue shirt over black shorts, Sasuke felt pride course through him on knowing the Uchiha fan was now on the back of the shirt. Upon completing the **Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**, father had ordered the clan symbol be embroiled on all his shirts and jackets, and even though it had been somewhat costly, it was worth it in the boy's eyes to know he was now considered an adult in the clan.

The small grin dropped upon remembering his father. It had felt good that his father acknowledged him and began to take notice of him. Now that he was gone, Sasuke wondered how he would be trained in the clan's jutsus, especially the Sharingan if he developed it.

Brushing those questions aside, the young boy picked up his backpack and strolled out of his bedroom. After only a few minutes, he entered the kitchen and sat on his usual cushion at the low table.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun," Mikoto warmly greeted from the kitchen counter, next to the sink.

"Morning, Mother," Sasuke replied, before he poured himself a glass of juice.

The brunette woman didn't say anything more. She walked over and placed down the various breakfast foods, and afterward, she joined her son in consuming their meal.

Yet the silence didn't last long. "Mother, what do you think we should do about the empty buildings?"

Mikoto sighed. They had buried all the dead and only began sorting through the wills and other paper work necessary to sort through all the legal applications. She was grateful the Hokage least had the foresight to lend her the help needed to work through such a huge workload. Hopefully, everything would be settled in another few weeks, especially transferring property and monetary ownership to under her name.

"To be honest, Sasuke, I've been thinking that it will be best we sell most of the property." As she expected, her son raised a surprised expression in her direction and it was clear he was against the idea. She raised a hand to forestall him talking.

"Sasuke, listen to me," she continued before lowering her hand. "What are we going to do with all these empty buildings and stores? We're only two people, and to have all this property just for the two of us is a waste. I had spoken to Hokage-sama yesterday, and even he said that to hold all this land is wasteful. So, I'm thinking that we'll keep our home estate, which is large at it is, and the clan shrine, and the rest will be sold to the village. Hopefully, all the land will be put to good use.

"Take the police headquarters, for example. Hokage-sama said that the ANBU can make good use of the facilities, now that they are the ones upholding the laws and keeping the peace."

Sasuke grimaced and thought about it for a few moments, before he shrugged. "I guess. It's sad that our clan used to be so great, and now we're reduced like this."

"As you know, our clan was given all this land as one of the founding clans of the village nearly a century ago," Mikoto pointed out prior to giving a reassuring grin. "One day, our clan will be great again, but we have a lot of work ahead of us before that day will come, like for you to finish eating your breakfast and get to school." Her grin became a teasing one. "You'll not become a good shinobi, if you don't attend school."

Her son produced a tiny chuckle at the joke. Seeing his spirits lifted up a bit, the new Uchiha Clan Head watched her son ate his breakfast, and once he was finished, he picked up his backpack, took his prepared lunch, kissed her on the cheek, and left for the Academy. She hoped Sasuke would not grow any problems in school due to any psychological affects of the massacre, but that was something she has to wait and see.

After finishing her food, Mikoto picked up the dishes to put in the dishwater. For the first time in years, the machine was being put to high use compared to before when she was mostly a housewife. Being busy as she was, she just didn't have the time anymore to do dishes.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"_Kami, I rather be home now,"_ mentally groused Sasuke, as he sat under a tree eating his lunch. As he thought, many kids were sympathetic to his lost and offered him their condolences. He'd thanked them and immediately went back to his schoolwork or whatever he was doing at the time. In the past three days, he had heard so many words of comfort from other clans, shinobi, and civilians, that by now, he took them for granted. He knew the other students were truly genuine in their feelings; just he just didn't want to be bothered.

A shadow fell over him, alerting him to someone standing over him, and judging from the shadow, it was another student. The young Uchiha sighed and prepared himself to hear yet more compassionate words. By now, he was growing tire of the sympathies and very much wished things were back to normal between him and everyone in the village.

Raising his head, Sasuke was somewhat surprised to see the sole blond boy of his class standing over him. With that golden hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks, it was hard to not recognize Naruto wherever he was around. They hardly spoke to each other, given Sasuke was focus on his work and Naruto seemed to be the slacker type, which he rather not associated with.

"What do you want, Naruto?" the black-haired boy asked with some off-airiness. It was not like he cared for the other boy's feelings, since Sasuke didn't have any friends anyway nor was he looking for any.

Naruto didn't seem to be fazed by the tone of voice. "Are you okay?"

The question threw the Uchiha into a loop. What kind of question was that? A person would have immediately conveyed his or her sympathies, thus the blond's question was quite unexpected.

After blinking a few times in stupefaction, Sasuke narrowed his eyes in suspicion at his classmate. Was he playing a game? "What type of question is that? After what had happened to me, do you think I'm just okay?"

"Of course not," Naruto replied. "I do not have any family to know how it feels to loose them. Just I ran into your mom that night."

Sasuke's eyebrows shot up at this interesting news. "You met my mother that night?"

"Yeah," Naruto confirmed with a nod. "She was carrying some bags of food and stuff, when the ANBU showed up. When they told her family was killed, she freaked out. I think she was concerned about you. One of them held her back from running home, not wanting her to be killed by the person who killed your family."

Relaxing, Sasuke nodded in understanding. What Naruto said confirmed what his mother told him what she had been doing that night. It was just she didn't say anything that she nearly panicked in a way that she almost ran back home.

"So," Naruto's voice brought the Uchiha boy from his thoughts, "is your mom okay?"

"My mother is fine," he immediately replied. Sasuke figured now that the blond was concerned, even though it was odd coming from a boy, who he was not aware knew his mother. "Thanks for your concerns."

Naruto's lips stretched to form that large smile he was well known for. "You're welcome. Your mother is a very nice lady."

Sasuke smirked. "Tell me something I don't know."

Softly laughing, the whisker-faced boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, realizing he had a good point there. "Well, you're welcome to hang out with me and the others," he gestured to small group of three boys eating lunch under another tree nearly on the other side of the yard.

"No thank you," the brunet nearly scoffed. "I'm not associating myself with a bunch of losers."

"Well, it was just an invitation," Naruto frowned, before he began walking back to his friends. "I'll see you later."

Watching the other boy moved away, Sasuke narrowed his eyes before resuming finishing his lunch. It was not like he cared for that loser and his loser friends. He was the best in the class, while Naruto was the clown, always playing jokes and goofing off.

Yet as he ate, the young Uchiha has to admit that the Uzumaki's condolences sure were different. It was also good to hear another perspective regarding his mother, for it clenched his heart to hear Mother freaked out.

With his mother in his thoughts, Sasuke continued to eat his lunch.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Gee, Naruto," Kiba called out as the blond came within hearing range, "why did you bother speaking with him? He still thinks high of himself, like all Uchihas do. Leave him alone."

Opening one eye lazily, Shikamaru eyed Naruto just as the boy reached the tree. "Kiba is right. Despite what had happened to his clan, Sasuke still is the same. It's troublesome, but it is best he be left alone, as we've been doing before." He yawned and closed his eye. Having finished his lunch, the Nara heir scurried his body down so he was lying on his back with his head rested on his hands.

"They're right, Naruto," Chouji spoke up, his words coming out from around the eating of a bag of potato chips. "Why did you bother?"

Turning his head around to look back at Sasuke, Naruto shrugged. "After what had happened to his family, I thought he must have felt alone. Being an orphan, I do not know what it must feel to loose a family, but I saw Sasuke's mom was really hurt when she heard of her family was killed. She was crying and such, making me wondering if Sasuke felt the same way." He sat down, his eyes now looking down at the ground. "He's alone now, and I just wanted him to know that he's not alone."

The other three boys couldn't understand what the mischief-maker was saying, so they shrugged and moved on. It was not important to them why Naruto did what he did. Naruto was Naruto, thus it was not possible to make sense of the blond, who was just too unpredictable to even try to make sense out of.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sitting at the edge of the dock with ebony eyes looking at his water's reflection, the sole male member of the Uchiha Clan couldn't help but to think about his father. After Naruto had told him about meeting his mother, Sasuke's thoughts had wandered regarding the future of his family. He has Mother, but he was the sole male heir, thus he knew it was totally up to him to revive the clan. Once school was out, he came to this small lake, the place where he'd mastered the Goukakyuu, to think, and those thoughts was mostly on his father, since this place also was where his father first acknowledged him as an adult of the clan.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Sasuke spotted Naruto walking along the path on the hill above the dock. The blond gave a friendly wave, but the raven-haired boy scoffed and temporarily looked away. He saw Naruto scowled and began strolling away. Yet he saw his classmate then gave a small grin and that in turn, made him grin. The class clown has his moments.

Looking down at his reflection again, the Uchiha once more thought of his father and his clan. He was glad his kaa-san was alive, but it was sad that his entire clan was gone.

Yet when his mind turned to the very person who was the cause of his clan's dismiss, Sasuke swore his reflection changed to the face of his older brother. Dark eyes narrowed in hatred at what his brother had done. He had trusted and loved him, and in return, Itachi had betrayed him.

"_It would be worthless… To kill someone like you… My foolish brother… If you want to kill me… Curse me! Hate me! Run away… Run away… And live a long and unsightly life… And cling to your pitiful life. And someday, when you have the same "eyes" as me. Come before me." _

With an angry shout, Sasuke leaped into the lake at the 'image' of his brother and began sinking into the darken depths. _"I'm going to kill you! I swear it! I'm going to get strong! Stronger than you, and when that day comes, I'll kill you, Itachi! I will revenge the clan!" _

As he chased after the 'image' of Itachi, the Uchiha boy sank deeper and deeper. He would have kept sinking, if it were not for a pair of arms that suddenly wrapped around his torso and began pulling him upward toward the surface. Only then did he realized his folly and began kicking his legs and feet to help the ascent. Breaking the surface, he crawled onto the shore, and once he took a few good deep breaths, Sasuke turned his head to his rescuer and went wide-eyed upon seeing blond hair and blue eyes staring back at him.

"What's the matter with you?!" Naruto nearly shouted. "You suddenly gave a battle cry and jumped into the lake! Did you actually want to drown?!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and twisted his head away to stare ahead. "It's none of you business. I appreciated the help though." He started to stand up.

Standing up as well, Naruto couldn't understand it. "What do you mean by that?! I don't think you want to actually kill yourself! What about your mother?! Did you want her to see you dead?!"

Pausing in mid-step, Sasuke felt his heart clenched. They had already suffered enough at his big brother's hands, so it would have broken her heart further if he had died. Feeling some guilt in not thinking about how her mother would have felt, the raven-haired boy hunched his head. "No, she would not have liked it at all."

"Yeah," the blond agreed. "As I told you, she freaked out upon hearing your clan was killed. I bet she was happy to see you were alive." Sasuke remembered that morning he woke up in the hospital, and given his mother's reaction, he couldn't dispute Naruto's guess.

Grabbing his arm, Naruto began dragging him along. "Come on. I'll help you get home."

Once more, Sasuke's ire rose up, banishing his guilt. "I do not need your help to get home!" he shouted and forcefully removed his arm from the other boy's grip. "I'm an Uchiha! I do not need a babysitter!" Waterlogged, the irritated boy walked away and headed toward home.

"I was only trying to help, Teme!" Naruto hollered at his classmate's back, thinking the boy was really crazy. Blue eyes looked around and spotted something on the dock, making the blond shouted after the other again. "Hey! Sasuke, you forgot your backpack!" Yet, Sasuke seemed to be out of hearing range, making Naruto realized that he was not coming back.

Quickly, after going around the lake to pick up the backpack from the dock, the whisker-faced boy dashed off after his thick-headed classmate.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

She just couldn't believe it. For the first time ever, she was seeing a side of her youngest child that she had not seen before. Mikoto had been hosting the Sandaime in the living room, talking about what Uchiha land properties that could benefit the village other than the police headquarters, when loud shouts had been heard outside. Recognizing her son's voice, she'd rushed out of the front entrance into the front courtyard to watched Sasuke, all soaking wet, entered the yard from the front gate, and he was followed by an equally wet Naruto. The two were arguing, thus the source of her amazement. The Uchiha matriarch had not ever heard her youngest child talked with such heat before, not even to Itachi.

"For the last time…!" Sasuke nearly was at his wits end. "I thank you for bringing me my backpack, but you do not need to watch over me! I can take care of myself!"

"Well, excuse me, Teme! I just wanted to make sure you gotten home okay!" Naruto parried back.

"Take a look around you, Dobe!" the black-haired boy pointed out. "I am **home**! You can leave now!"

Mikoto cleared her throat, and both boys immediately realized she was there. Sasuke's cheeks began to redden, knowing that his mother must have heard everything. Naruto however perked up with a wide smile.

"Hi there, Mikoto-kaachan!" greeted the boy with a wave.

Sasuke clenched a fist and sent an upset glare at the blond. "What did you call my mother?!" No one was that familiar with his mother! Only he, her son, should be that familiar with her!

"Sasuke, calm down please," Mikoto gently smiled reassuringly. "Naruto-kun obvious meant no disrespect, if you judge by his tone of voice." After seeing her son unclenched his fist and relaxed a bit, the 30-something woman moved on to something that she was concern about. "Now can you two explain **why** you're soaking wet?"

Before her son could respond, the blond beat him to it. "Sasuke jumped into the lake. I helped pull him out."

Raising an eyebrow at the reason, Mikoto trained a 'Start explaining!' expression toward her son. He knew he couldn't get away with anything, when she wore that face. "He's right. I jumped into the lake. I overreacted in thinking I saw **him**."

Mikoto didn't need to be a mind-reader to know what man her son was talking about. She would get a better clarification later, but for now, there was a more pressing issue regarding the two boys in front of her.

Yet before she could voice her thoughts, another person spoke from behind her. "I see you're going to be busy for a while, Mikoto. I'll be back tomorrow to finalize the deal we agreed upon for the village to buy some of the Uchiha land." The two boys looked behind Mikoto to spot the Third Hokage standing there, looking amused.

"Hi there, Hokage-jiji!" greeted Naruto, prompting Sasuke to glared at him again.

Chuckling, the elderly leader came forward and made a calming gesture with one hand. "It is okay, Sasuke. I don't mind Naruto calling me that." His eyes were twinkling as he looked at the two youngsters, before he eyed the Uchiha Head. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Mikoto. Good evening."

The two Uchihas politely bid good night in return, while Naruto also said good night but in loud way. Sasuke wondered if the blond was on a sugar high or something.

After the Sandaime left, Mikoto turned back to the two boys and placed her hands on her hips with a look that told the pair that she would not tolerate any insubordination. "Sasuke, go change. Naruto, come with me. I have a small robe you can borrow, while I dry your clothes in the dryer. In the meantime, you can have dinner with us."

Sasuke couldn't believe it that his mother has invited the class clown to dinner, yet he knew better than to voice anything against that stern face of hers. Naruto on the other hand nervously chuckled. "That's okay, Kaa-chan. You don't have to worry about me. I can get home, change, and have a couple of warm cups of ramen."

"Is that all you eat?" enquired the raven-haired woman. She had heard rumors that the boy only ate ramen, nothing else.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, no," he chuckled. "It's just the most affordable food I can buy." In his mind, he was not going to say that most grocery store owners would overcharge him for food. He found they kept the price steady for ramen though. Why, he has no idea.

Mikoto frowned. "Well, that's no good for a growing boy like you, Naruto-kun. You have to eat more than just ramen." She smiled kindly at him. "So, I insist you join Sasuke and me for dinner, and I will not take 'No' for an answer." With that said, she pushed the two toward the entrance of the house.

Sasuke, in the meantime, was trying to figure out why his mother was doing this. Maybe it was just as a thank-you for the Dobe 'saving' his life.

Naruto, however, was a bit edgy, since this was the first time he had ever been invited into someone's home. As long as he could remember, most people in the village always chased him away or told their kids to stay away from him. Other than Iruka-sensei, Hokage-jiji, and the old man and Ayama-neechan from the Ichiraku's ramen stand; no one had ever been kind to him in such a way. He wondered if Mikoto-kaachan was pulling a prank on him.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Many minutes later, Naruto took back those thoughts on the older woman was going to pull a joke on him. In a small blue-robe with his body and hair all dry, he sat at the low table in the house's kitchen, gobbling down rice, fish, meat, and other tasty food. It had been a very long time since he had a good meal like this. Well, other than the wonderful food and ramen at Ichiraku's, that was.

Watching his classmate from across the table, the youngest Uchiha, dressed in casual pants and shirt, was amazed at the amount of food being devoured by the blond. Was this guy an Akimichi? Other than members of that clan, no one could eat this much in one meal.

"Will you slow down, Dobe?" frowned Sasuke. "You act like you have been starving."

After swallowing a piece of fish, Naruto bashfully chuckled. "Sorry about that. The food is great. Your mother is a great cook."

Mikoto thankfully grinned at her guest as she sat between the boys. "I thank you for the compliment, Naruto-kun." The whisker-faced boy again bashfully chuckled.

Turning from the happy blond to her son, the clan matriarch sighed. "Are you going to tell me now why you jumped into the lake, Sasuke? You said you saw **him**."

Sasuke hesitated, his dark eyes on the blue-eyed boy across from him. Mikoto immediately picked up why her child was reluctant to speak. "The whole village already knows who the murderer is. Telling Naruto-kun will make no difference. It's not top secret, you know."

Frowning, the dark-eyed boy was not entirely convinced by his mother's words, but she was right that it would make no difference if Naruto knew or not. After giving a shrug, Sasuke started explaining. "I was angry," he said before his eyes made contact with his mother's similar dark orbs. "After what Itachi did to us, I just felt so angry that I thought I saw his face in the water, mother. I went in after him." His eyes narrowed, and his voice became harsh. "He should die! Mother, we should revenge the clan! Kill the bastard!"

Eying her son, Mikoto felt sad, yet she understood why Sasuke felt this way. The psychologists at the hospital warned her that after a time of sadness, anger would eventually boil to the surface for Sasuke and even her. Being an adult, she had a better hold on her emotions, and even though she was upset over the whole massacre, she easily coped due to knowing precisely why Itachi killed the clan. Sasuke unfortunately would not likely ever know the real truth, so he would be very angry and upset at such a betrayal.

Sighing, the Uchiha mother reached over to hold his son's hand in hers. "Sasuke… You have every right to feel anger toward Itachi, but you're thinking of revenge. Given his skills and strength, do you think you will stand a chance against him alone? You're not even a genin, yet alone an ANBU captain that Itachi reached."

Following the conversation, Naruto figured out something. "Whoa," he said, gaining the two Uchihas' attention. "Are you saying this Itachi guy was the one who killed your clan?"

Mikoto sadly grinned. "Yes, he did. He is also happened to be Sasuke's older brother, thus my eldest son."

Blue eyes went wide, looking from Mikoto to Sasuke. "Your brother… I… Why? Why did he kill his own family?"

"For power," replied Sasuke with a sneer. "I'm going to get strong, and one day I'm going to kill him. I swear it!"

Naruto certainly could tell that Sasuke meant it, yet the way he said it just felt wrong to him. Yet there was one problem the blond saw in the goal. "Yet, Mikoto-kaachan said your brother was an ANBU captain. ANBU are the best ninjas in the village next to the Hokage. Even I know they are strongest ninjas we have. If your brother was an ANBU, you have to train for a long time to even reach that level."

Sasuke blinked at first before frowning. He realized that Naruto was right. He was currently only a first-year Academy student compared to Itachi, who had been an ANBU Black Ops Captain prior to the massacre. "So this just means I have to train hard. I'm going to train hard and become the strongest in the village."

"Yeah, so am I," the gold-haired boy admitted, making both Uchihas raised their eyebrows as they watched the lips on Naruto's face lifted up into a challenging grin. "You're forgetting that I am the one who will become Hokage one day!" he thumbed himself. "I'm the one who will become the strongest in the village."

A snort of a disbelieving laugh escaped Sasuke's lips. "In your dreams. You? Hokage? Like how can a loser like you become Hokage?"

"Just you watch, Teme!" Naruto pointed to his classmate. "I'm going to become the strongest and become Hokage! Dattebayo!"

Keeping herself from laughing out loud, Mikoto gave a small, amused grin, watching the exchange between the two boys. A moment ago, Sasuke was talking about killing Itachi with such anger that made her very worry about his mental health, but Naruto managed to dispel it with ease as well as quickly getting her son to think about something else other than his brother.

As Sasuke and Naruto continued to eat while swapping barbs, the raven-haired woman thought of an idea. If implemented, it would make her be sort-of an outcast among the general population of the village. It was something that none in her clan would have even dream of doing, but now that she was clan head, there was no one to oppose her. Her son no doubt would not like it at all, but over time, it might benefit him as well as Naruto.

Mikoto decided that she would wait a few days and observed how the two interact at the Academy and after school. If she became convince, she would put forward her suggestion to the Hokage. It was a good idea, as far as she was concerned, so the Uchiha mother couldn't see how the Sandaime would be against it.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I'm not sure that will be a good idea, Mikoto," the Third calmly stated, sitting in his chair behind his desk with his hat on the desk to his right.

Mikoto was flabbergasted. He was opposing the idea? "I do not understand why you are against this, Hokage-sama," she said as she stood in front of Konoha's leader, wearing a blue half-kimono over black pants and high-heeled sandals with the Uchiha crest on the kimono's back. With her hair up in a bun at the top back of her head with two hair-sticks sticking out at the base of the bun in a cross, the Uchiha matriarch looked quite formal. There would be no doubt to anyone seeing her that she looked like a clan head, which she was.

The Hokage sighed sadly. "Are you sure you want to do this? Your clan's reputation might not be viewed in a favorable light with most of the villagers, especially the clans who supported the Uchiha. Even though it is true that no one can speak about the Kyuubi, some clans and villagers can make life miserable in some other way." The elderly leader shook his head with regret. "Politics had made it hard for any clan to adopt Naruto, and it saddened me that he could have grown up with a loving family if it weren't for those who wanted to see his life be miserable."

A somewhat sad yet reassuring grin came to the Uchiha head's face. "I'm sure Naruto appreciated all that you did for him over the years, Hokage-sama, yet times have changed since then, especially in the past week or so. I really do not care what other people think, and by the time my clan recovers many decades from now, people will not even remember about me adopting Naruto, so politics today will not likely ever affect the politics in the far future. "

Hiruzen slightly grinned at her. "Good points, Mikoto." The grin quickly disappeared as it had appeared. "Just I need to know this. Are you doing this truly in caring for Naruto, or are you doing this just for Minato?"

The beautiful Uchiha woman didn't waver in providing her answer. "For both. I'm sure Minato will not mind that I will look after his son, now that I'm in a position to do so. Before, my clan would not ever had approved of adopting Naruto, even if I was allowed to adopt him. "

Looking into those dark eyes, the Third could tell that Mikoto spoke the truth and was quite sincere. With a warm grin, the wise man nodded. "Very well, Mikoto. I'll start on getting the adoption papers ready for you to sign tomorrow. In the meantime, you can inform Naruto of your intentions." Mikoto smiled at this before bowing her head in respect and thanks.

Chuckling, the Sandaime picked up his pipe. "Ever since I had observed that conversation between Naruto and Sasuke a few days ago, I've observed the boys. It seems Naruto has become a small thorn in your son's side recently." After taking a smoke, Sarutobi chuckled again. "I think they will be good for each other."

"Why you suppose I want to adopt Naruto, Hokage-sama?" Mikoto slightly smirked, her eyes twinkling. The elderly leader laughed, knowing now she would definitely be good for Naruto, if she had planned to bring the two boys closer together. Who knew? The two one day might be good friends.

Laughter dying away, he took another smoke off his pipe, before he eyed the matriarch semi-seriously. "As you might have surmised, Mikoto, village politics are changing due to the vacuum left in the wake of your clan's massacre. Those clans in support of the Uchiha will slowly loose their influences over time as the Hyuuga no doubt gain strength and become the most powerful clan in the village. Once news of you adopting Naruto gets out, you will possibility loose support from those clans that supported the Uchiha, but eventually, you will gain support from the Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Inuzuka clans, whose clan heads and spouses know of Naruto's linage, as you know, not to mention you will have the support of my clan as well."

"And the Aburame and Hyuuga clans?" asked the Uchiha Head.

"They will remain neutral, as they always had regarding Naruto," replied the Third. "They do not know of his linage, since none of them were close friends of Minato and Kushina to have known of her being pregnant."

Mikoto nodded in understanding. Due to the many enemies Minato made inside and outside the village, it had been decided to keep Kushina's pregnancy a secret, and after the whole Kyuubi Incident, records of Kushina's existence were either destroyed or sealed away to prevent anyone from easily deducing that Naruto was Kushina's son from the same family name. It would lead to everyone knowing Naruto was the Yondaime's son, thus the boy's life would have been in greater jeopardy on top of him being a Jinchuuriki.

Lips curling up into a small grin, the Hokage took a puff out of his pipe before continuing. "These changes are coming, so it is best you know, so you will be prepared in case any of the clans come forward to speak to you, especially the clans still loyal to the Uchiha. In the meantime, you have an immediate situation to handle regarding informing your new family member."

Again nodding, this time with a small grin, the Uchiha matriarch bowed her head toward her superior. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"You're welcome, Mikoto," Hiruzen responded.

After a simple exchange of good-byes, Mikoto left the office, leaving behind the Sandaime, who wondered how much a change would be coming in the future by the kind act of providing an orphan a home.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The moment the final bell rang, the after-school chaos began as usual. Some students ran out immediately and left for home or wherever beyond the school courtyard walls. Other children huddled around in small groups in the yard, talking to each other or began playing, while a few met up with their parents, who came to pick up their kids and eventually also conversed with each other.

However, the typical routine was broken, when Uchiha Mikoto strolled through the front gates. Seeing her all dressed in majestic attire fitting for a clan head, the parents and few teachers in the yard immediately bowed their heads in respect as they greeted the matriarch, who grinned and simply nodded her head in return as she made way toward her son.

Standing in front of a small group of his classmates, Sasuke watched in awe as his mother approached him. He very rarely ever seen his mom dressed so elegantly, and those occasions were for formal events his parents had attended as the head of the clan.

"Wow," said an awestruck Naruto, who stood beside Sasuke. "Your mom sure is beautiful."

Sasuke didn't say anything, for he couldn't dispute what was true. His mother currently was a sight of royal beauty.

"Mother, what are you doing here, and why are you dress up like that?" asked the young Uchiha once his mom came within hearing range.

"I just came from the Hokage's office," Mikoto smiled at her son. "I had some important business to discuss with him as clan head, thus I'd decided to be formal to show I was serious in the matter." She paused for a moment. "As for why I'm here, I'm not only here to pick you up, Sasuke, but I'm here to ask Naruto-kun to join us, for there is something I need to talk to him regarding his future."

Many pair of eyes focused on the blond boy, who was surprised by the invitation. "You want to talk to me?" Mikoto's nod and grin answered his question "Why?"

The Uchiha Clan Head simply continued to grin. "As I said, I need to talk to you concerning your **future**." Her ebony eyes took in both boys. "Now come, let us go."

As she walked away back toward the front gate, her youngest child quickly followed, wondering why she needed to talk to Naruto. It was baffling to him, since there was no reason why the blond idiot was so important to his mother.

Naruto, however, began to follow but turned around to raise an eyebrow at Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba, who were just as stumped as he was. Sasuke's voice brought him back to what he was supposed to be doing now though. "Hey, Dobe! Are you coming or not?!"

Turning back, the whisker-faced boy sprinted off to the waiting Uchihas, who stood by the gates. "Okay, okay, Teme! I heard you!"

Chuckling at the pair, Mikoto strolled out of the Academy grounds, followed by the two boys. Once they were gone, everyone in the courtyard began talking among each other to what they just witnessed and heard. Some of the adults particularly were confused to why the Uchiha matriarch wanted to talk to the 'demon' boy.

"Um, Shikamaru?" Chouji began, holding a bag of chips "Was that really…?"

The lazy Nara boy nodded, shaking himself out of being stunned. "That was Sasuke's mom."

"She sure is pretty," Chouji added, before he dug into the potato chips bag.

"Yeah," Kiba agreed prior to his lips forming a smirk. "She looks hot alright, but she has nothing over **my** okaa-san."

Several girls next to them started squealing, once their shock worn off. "Did you see that?" Yamanaka Ino asked the other girls. "That was Sasuke's mom!"

Haruno Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I can see where Sasuke-kun got his looks! She's beautiful!"

As the few members of the 'Sasuke Fan Club' exchanged thoughts regarding their crush's mother, the three boys slowly walked away from the bunch, eying the girls like they were the plague.

"Troublesome girls," muttered Shikamaru once they were out of the girls' hearing range.

"Yeah, they're scary at times," Chouji agreed.

Kiba simply scoffed. "I can't see what they see in the jerk. He thinks he's better than anyone, just because he's an Uchiha." He shrugged as the trio left the Academy compound.

Yet the three boys' thoughts soon returned to the question that would soon be on the minds of everyone throughout the village. What does Uchiha Mikoto wanted with Uzumaki Naruto?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"SAY WHAT?!" a blond boy shouted through the kitchen he was in. It was clear he was quite shock to what he had just heard.

"Mother, why?" Sasuke queried, equally shock although not as loud.

Mikoto, sitting between the two, gently grinned with comfort and warmth. "Because Naruto-kun needs a home, Sasuke. We have so much space here, so why not provide him with a place to live? He'll be in our company, and he'll in turn will provide you company as well."

Her son snorted. "I don't need a babysitter."

"I certainly am not your babysitter," agreed Naruto with narrowed eyes at the black-haired boy.

Shaking her head, the clan matriarch held up a hand to forestall any arguments. "I didn't mean it that way, boys. There will be times when I'm not here, so instead of having a babysitter here to watch over you, you two can be there for each other." Her eyes caught on small blue ones. "Besides, it is better than being alone."

Naruto wanted to refute that, but those dark eyes, full of sympathy for him, made him held his words. He may have an apartment, but it was lonely living by oneself. It was why he spent most of his time elsewhere, even though it was painful at times to hear some people called him 'demon', 'monster', and other words. He just couldn't take the loneliness at times.

"Are you sure, Mikoto-kaachan?" softly spoke the blond after a few moments of thought. "Many people I noticed just do not like me."

"Yeah," Sasuke chipped in, "father said to stay away from him, since he's a prankster and bad influence." Naruto winced upon hearing that.

"Your father did not know what he was talking about," Mikoto replied firmly. "Yes, Naruto loves to joke, but he has not harm anyone and done any wrong doing, Sasuke."

Young dark eyes turned from his mother to gaze into expressive blues, and when he saw sadness in them, he turned away feeling some guilt inside.

Training her sight on the blond once more, the raven-haired clan head grinned encouragingly. "I'm sure, Naruto. You're welcome to stay here. You'll have a better home than your apartment, and you'll have better meals than just eating ramen all the time."

"But I like ramen!" Naruto quickly cried out defensively.

Sasuke snorted a laugh. "Who lives on only ramen? Are you aiming to become a ramen-noodle brain, Dobe?"

Naruto rounded on the other boy. "Put a sock in it, Teme!" Yet the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward into an amused grin upon seeing the same on Sasuke's face.

After producing a giggle at the boys' banter, Mikoto focused again on the blond, who looked up at her with an expression filled with hope. "I can live here now?" he asked, and once he saw her nodded again warmly, Naruto did something that caught the two Uchihas unaware. He leaped into her form and hugged her tightly. "Thank you!"

At first she was startled by his action, but once she realized what he was doing, Mikoto smiled affectionately and returned the hug as she gently stroke his head. "You are welcome, Naruto," she said. She felt him shuddered and her shoulder getting wet, making her know they were joyful tears Naruto were releasing, and in return, her own eyes couldn't help but get moist themselves upon knowing she had just now made one lonely little boy very happy.

Watching his classmate and mother hugged each other, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy, but it was so minor that it didn't prevent the small grin forming on his face at the happy scene before him. After the bleakness of what had happened to his clan, it was good to feel there was still joy in the world to experience.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**So thus how began Uzumaki Naruto's new life under the care of Uchiha Mikoto. By providing a home to a lonely boy, who was Konoha's Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, the path truly began to change. No one had known at the time, but this simple act of kindness and love had provided the first strong foundation block that would shape and mold a life toward the destiny that await years later. **

**If there was ever a great example of how love can become the strongest pillar of hope and determination in the history of the life of Konoha's greatest Hokage, this moment should be cited. **

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

TBC (End of Chapter 2)

A/Ns:

1) I find it hard to believe in canon that the knowledge about who are Naruto's parents was kept really top secret. So far, it is confirmed that Jiraiya and Tsunade knew of Naruto's parents, but I find it hard to believe those two are the only ones. I'm sure Minato and Kushina made many friends in the village, thus I thought some of the clan heads would be their friends thus know of Naruto's linage.

On top of that, how can the Fourth hide the fact he was married to Kushina? Being the Hokage, it would have been quite hard to hide from the entire village that he was married. So in the end, I think the only true way for Naruto's parentage to be kept secret was that 1) most villagers knew her as Mrs. Namikaze and do not know of her maiden name, and 2) all of Kushina's records were wiped out. With the exception of their closest friends, no one would know that Minato and Kushina had a son.

2) Mikoto's formal attire, mentioned in this chapter when she met the Third in his office, was inspired by an art I'd found over at DevaintArt by Dakatsu-Hime. The attire in the art is not the same in this chapter, but her hairstyle definitely is the same. I couldn't help but noticed that Mikoto looks quite beautiful wearing that shade of blue Sasuke wore in canon, thus I'd decided that color will be the official color Mikoto will wear on any kimono and some other clothes.

Anyone can find the link to the art in my author profile or copy-and-paste the following URL and remove the spaces…

dakatsu-hime . deviantart . com / art / Uchiha-Mikoto-109241602

Next Chapter: Two Brothers and a Matriarch


	4. Chapter 3: Two Brothers and a Matriarch

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :) No copying of my story is allowed. That's stealing if anyone copies my story into his/her own story. Write your own story without taking others' works! (angry glare)

**If sentences are all bold like this, this means it's being told in 1****st**** person in a book.**

Story rating: M (R)(for adult themes, sexual and blood)  
Written: April 2009 - Present

Summary: By surviving the Uchiha Massacre, one woman changed the path of destiny.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Matriarch of Destiny  
Chapter 3 – Two Brothers and a Matriarch  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

If anyone in Konohagakure no Sato thought the changes brought from the Uchiha Massacre would be surprising enough to adjust, very few people were prepared to hear the news of Uchiha Mikoto, the Matriarch of the Uchiha, had adopted Uzumaki Naruto. It was news that shocked many, especially all who knew the boy contained the Kyuubi. Why would the new Uchiha Clan Head adopt the 'demon boy'? What would she gain from it? It was quite puzzling to many villagers.

Yet a few months after Naruto had moved into the Uchiha Estate, which were now only comprised of the large home of the clan head and the Uchiha Shrine, people were still trying to figure out Mikoto's motive for taking in the blond prankster and acting so protective of him. The clans, which had supported the Uchiha before the massacre, had urged the new Uchiha head to 'kill' the 'demon'. She had outright and venomously refused, thus those clans had broke off all ties. Even common villagers, who dared to harm or say anything bad about the boy in front of Mikoto, would not be spared any sympathy, for she would refused to do business with any of them.

Konoha's children however took it in better stride than the adults. Those in the Academy had been first shocked, and when they had asked Naruto and Sasuke, both boys had given the same reason, "Kaa-chan/Mother just wanted to give me/him a home." It was pretty straight forward, although many, mainly Sasuke's 'fangirls', just thought it was weird for a loud, outgoing person like Naruto to share a home with a quiet, smart person like Sasuke.

However, all those at the Academy did notice a major change in Naruto, and that was he had stopped his pranks. He still jokes, but after school, he no longer went around the village pulling pranks as he sometimes did when he was not hanging with Shikamaru, Kiba, and Chouji. The blond sheepishly had stated that Kaa-chan wanted him to focus on homework and studies, thus why he even at times went immediately home instead of hanging with his friends. To say this type of change was a shocker was putting it mildly, for most knew the boy just did not bother with homework and studying unless it was reading up for a jutsu or any other hands-on physical ninja work, which he loved to do.

One thing was a bit mind-boggling to most, who knew Sasuke and Naruto. The boys were almost complete polar opposites in personalities that it had been hardly any surprise that they had not talk much to each other before the adoption. Yet after the adoption, they were seen together walking to school and afterward, and at times, they seemed to be friendly. The sight of these two boys talking civilly with one another was amazing. It made some wondered how the two could even tolerate each other, nevertheless live with one another.

To every student and teacher at the Konoha Ninja Academy, they thought it was a miracle Naruto and Sasuke have yet to kill each other.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Why do we need to know this crap?" bellowed Naruto as he sat at the kitchen's low table. "It's not like we have to know about history in the middle of a battle."

"Because knowing our history will prepare us in cases where it helps to know the enemy," Sasuke nearly gritted out while maintaining eyesight on his own history book.

"It does?" The blond scratched his head as he gazed down at his book. "So if I was fighting a bad guy, how will knowing about the founding of the village help me? Bore him to death?"

Sasuke slammed his forehead down onto his book, his teeth grinding. At the Academy, Naruto mostly still stuck with his friends, so the young Uchiha was mostly left alone, as usual, and didn't have to deal with the talkative blond. At home however, he has to put up with constant talking that he wanted to scream. Of course, with mother busy with making dinner and other things, Sasuke was the only person around for Naruto to latch onto and talk.

Rising his head to once more read his textbook, Sasuke shook his head. "No wonder you barely pass any written tests and quizzes. You're such a dobe."

Naruto snorted and crossed his arms. "Well, I'm not the one who broods in class and do not make an efforts to make friends, Teme."

"I do not need to make friends," the raven-haired boy snapped back, looking up at the blond. "I just need to become stronger."

"Yeah, right," the whisker-faced boy rolled his eyes. "Stick your head in books will make you stronger. I can see you now, throwing books at the enemies."

With a snarl, Sasuke placed his hands on the table and leaned forward. "What do you know, Dobe? Your fighting skills are pathetic, from what I've seen at school during the physical drills."

Leaning forward, Naruto glared back. "What are we learning, Teme? Are we learning any jutsu to make us stronger? I thought the Academy would teach us great jutsu and fighting stuff, not learning worthless history! How are you going to beat your brother by learning history?!"

Taken aback, Sasuke realized that Naruto was right. How could he become stronger by learning all this stuff? Should he be learning new jutsu in order to one day be stronger than Itachi?

Wide onyx eyes returned to normal as his face became indifferent again. "You're right, but you're still a dobe."

"Eh?!" Naruto nearly shouted before pointing a finger at the other boy. "Face it, Sasuke-**chan**! I'm going to become stronger than you! I'm going to protect Kaa-chan from that evil brother of yours, when you will be too weak to do so!"

"What did you call me?!" Sasuke leaned forward again to glare back. "I am the one who will beat Itachi one day! Not you!"

A smirk graced Naruto's face. "Yeah, you and your book."

Sasuke was livid. "Why you!" He very much wanted to punch Naruto in the face for insulting him like this.

"ENOUGH!" a feminine shout reverberated throughout the kitchen, making the two boys stopped their squabble. Two pairs of wide eyes turned as one toward the kitchen sink where a rigid mother stood, her hands on the countertop.

"Kaa-chan/Mother?" both boys spoke at the same time. For Sasuke, it was the first time he had ever heard his mother used this tone before, while Naruto was afraid that he has now crossed a line with his guardian, for he did not want her to hate him.

Mikoto sighed, relaxing her body as she rubbed her temple. It had been peaceful for the first few days after Naruto moved in, but it didn't last as he and Sasuke eventually argue at times. She had not ever had such problems between Sasuke and Itachi, but that was only because Itachi was rarely home to be much of a daily influence. Naruto was there now every day, so it was unavoidable that the two would eventually butt heads.

Allowing a small chuckle to escape her being, the 30-something woman shook her head slightly. _"Ironic that Sasuke and Naruto act like bickering brothers more than Itachi and Sasuke ever was."_

With that thought out of the way, Mikoto focused on one aspect of her boys' conversation. An idea sprang in her mind, but she first needed verification.

Turning around to face the two boys, Mikoto walked the few steps to stand in front of her spot on the low table. Her calm face eased their fears that she would do something nasty to them. "Are you two serious about wanting to become stronger?"

"Yes!" both boys said together with conviction.

"I see," she said. After a moment of contemplation, the Uchiha Matriarch gave a small grin at Naruto. "Were you serious about protecting me, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto did not waver in answering. "You bet! I do not want to see you get hurt, Kaa-chan!"

Mikoto, satisfied with Naruto's answer, turned to her son. "What about you, Sasuke? Will you protect me, if I was in trouble?"

"Of course!" the Uchiha boy cried out in shock. What kind of question was that? He would not ever allow anything to harm his mother. He loved her, and if something happened to her, he would be devastated.

Contented that she now has her answer, the Uchiha Clan Head made her decision. "If you boys want to get stronger, will you two not mind me teaching you?"

Both dark and blue eyes went wide in surprise at this. "You will teach us, Kaa-chan?" asked Naruto. "So you're a ninja?"

"Yes, I am," she replied warmly. "I'm a kunoichi."

Naruto was baffled. "Ku-what?" Sasuke rolled his eyes at how could his 'adopted' brother not know what the word meant.

Mikoto, however, was not perturbed. "Ku-no-i-chi," she stressed out each part of the word for Naruto to follow. "Kunoichi. It's a word meaning 'female ninja', Naruto-kun."

"Oh" was all the blond said before bursting out in joy. "That's so cool, Kaa-chan! You can teach Sasuke and me to become ninjas!"

The older woman nodded as she raised a finger. "Yes, but you both have to follow what I say. Starting tomorrow after school, you'll both start physical training, but after dinner, you will do your schoolwork and studies."

Sasuke nodded in understanding. He had forgotten his mother used to be in the shinobi forces, from what she had told him. He had learned some things from his father, but with him gone, he had wondered who would be able to train him. The dark-haired boy did not need have worried, for his mother would be the one to help him out.

Naruto whined though. "But I'm not good in schoolwork, Kaa-chan! I'm no good in it!"

Giving a reassuring grin, Mikoto bent down to rub a hand over his head. "I know. You have much to learn, Naruto-kun. I'm willing to help tutor you, but you in turn must put in your best effort. I know you can learn many things. You can do it."

Sad blue eyes became hopeful. "You think so?"

"I know so," Mikoto encouraged. Standing straight again after seeing the warm smile on her adopted son's face, the brunette pointed to the history textbook. "I'll help you after dinner, okay?"

"Okay!" Naruto beamed, excited that he was going to have someone actually teach him what all this stuff was about. Iruka-sensei was great and all, but he just easily fell asleep during his lectures.

Returning to the kitchen counter to finish preparing dinner, Mikoto have to admit that she has her work cut out for her. Seeing how Naruto handled schoolwork, it was clear the boy needed special individual attention that a classroom could not provide. It was sad to have found out from reading his Academy files that the blond boy just was not into anything unless it involved any physical aspects of being a shinobi.

With a small grin as she prepared the rice, the Uchiha kunoichi thought that all it might take was some special Tender Loving Care for Naruto to start learning properly. It was still only the first academic year, so there was plenty of time to help him before graduation three years from now.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As soon as the final school bell rang, Naruto quickly packed his backpack and sprang out of the classroom. "Come on, Teme! We need to get back home!" he shouted behind him, before the 9-year-old was gone out of the room's bottom entrance.

Sasuke snorted a grin. He too was eager to get home and find out what type of training his mother would be giving them. For all his life, he only saw his okaa-san as a housewife, so it would be interesting to see the power his mother could wield.

After picking up his packed backpack and donning it, the sole Uchiha male was about to go down the steps, when two girls blocked him. Groaning, Sasuke knew what Ino and Sakura wanted, and it was annoying every time they did this.

"Sasuke-kun," started Sakura as she gazed dreamy-eyed at him, "how about we go for some snacks together? It will be nice to hang out with you."

"Yeah, Sasuke-kun," Ino chimed in.

The young Uchiha didn't bat an eye as he stepped pass the two girls. "No thank you. I'm heading home. My mother will be starting my training today, and I'm not going to miss it." With that said, he walked quickly out of the classroom before the two bombshelled girls could say or do anything.

"Did he say his mother is going to train him?" the pink-haired girl asked the bleach blond.

"I heard the same thing," confirmed the other.

After a moment or two, both girls squealed. "Sasuke-kun's mother is going to train him! He's going to become so strong now!" Sakura pointed out.

Ino nodded in agreement. "If Uchiha-sama is strong as she is beautiful, Sasuke-kun definitely will become a great ninja!"

As the two 'Sasuke fangirls' continued to gush how much they expect their crush to become stronger, three boys in the back of the room were a bit dumfounded due to another line of thought upon hearing what Sasuke had said.

"Hey, Shikamaru," spoke Chouji around his eating of a bag of potato chips. "If Sasuke's mom is going to train him, does this mean Naruto is going get training as well?"

The lazy Naru nodded his head a few times. "It makes sense. Sasuke's mom, from what my Dad told me, does care for Naruto, and given how much Naruto loves to learn about fighting skills, it does explain why he bolted out of the room fast." Placing his hands in his pockets, the boy began walking toward the classroom's rear entrance. "I will not be surprise if Naruto shows some abilities in the future. He's troublesome enough as he is, but he will be more troublesome now that he will be getting training."

Following behind Chouji, who began trailing Shikamaru, Kiba snorted. "Come on! What will Naruto learn from Sasuke's mom? How to become a bigger stick-in-a-mud?"

Stopping at the door's threshold, the Nara heir turned to face the Inuzuka boy. "My Dad told me that Sasuke's mom is a retired kunoichi, jounin rank. Just because she was a housewife does not mean she's a pushover." With that said, he left into the hallway, quickly followed by Chouji.

Kiba blinked at first, before he too left the room. "She still has nothing over my Okaa-san," he grinned, as he looked up at the puppy on top of his head. "Right, Akamaru?" The white pup barked in agreement.

Besides the front desk, Umino Iruka's line of thoughts was the same as Shikamaru. He was glad that Naruto had been adopted by Mikoto-sama, and given the few times he have seen the Uchiha Matriarch with the blond boy, the Academy Instructor was able to see just how much Sasuke's mother cared for Naruto. If he couldn't get Naruto to learn and pay attention to his studies, maybe Mikoto could.

Returning to grading the papers on his desk, Iruka vowed to least check up on Naruto's progress. He knew it was none of his business what the clans do when it came to training their children, but Naruto was a special case to him. Having had seen the loneliness the boy gone through, the scar-faced Chuunin felt a connection with the boy like he had with none of the other students.

Next to Iruka, Mizuki frowned. _"Just great. If the demon boy gets special training from the Head of the Uchiha Clan, he will get stronger. Just great." _He and some other instructors planned to foil the demon's education as much as possible, but if Uchiha Mikoto was going to educate the brat as well, the silver-haired chuunin wondered whether any misdirection on his and the others' parts would be in vain.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As he ran through the front door of his new home, Naruto shouted out for his adopted mother. "Kaa-chan! I'm home! Where are you?!" He just couldn't wait to start his training.

"In here!" came the reply from the living room.

Strolling down the hallway, the whisker-faced boy arrived at his destination and pushed the shogi door opened. His blue eyes spotted Mikoto sitting on her knees at the room's low table, but what caught his attention the most was that she was wearing something that seemed quite out of place for the setting.

"Why are you wearing a bathing suit, Kaa-chan?" asked a bewildered Naruto, before he walked into the room, his eyes examining the older woman. She was wearing a one-piece, dark-blue swimsuit, which has the Uchiha crest embroiled on the back.

With her black mane in a ponytail, Mikoto grinned amusedly. "I'm just dress properly for your first training lesson."

Naruto was even more confused now. "What? How to swim? I know that already."

"You'll see," the Uchiha Head replied, her eyes twinkling. "We'll wait for Sasuke, before I start explaining."

Shrugging, Naruto plopped down onto a cushion next to his guardian before shrugging off his backpack.

A few minutes later, Mikoto's youngest child entered the house and found his mother and adopted brother in the living room. Just like Naruto, he was confused to what his mother was wearing. "Why are you in your swimsuit, Mother?"

"As I told Naruto, it is the proper attire to wear to give out your first lesson," she answered, before standing up and gesturing to the two boys warmly. "Now go change into your swim trunks. Naruto, I bought your swim trunks today. You'll find it on your bed." With a final pointed gesture to the living room's exit, she shooed them away. "Now go, and meet me outside next to the pool."

Both boys complied, confusion still evident on their faces. Why were they donning swim attire for their first lesson?

Several minutes later, both boys emerged from the house through the living room and headed toward a small pond, which also was the swimming pool. Mikoto stood next to the body of clear water, waiting for them.

"How do you like your swim trunks, Naruto-kun?" she asked kindly.

"It's great! Thank you, Kaa-chan!" smiled Naruto, who wore dark-blue swim trunks with dark-orange trim and dark-orange flames around the legs' edges. The Uzumaki spiral was embroiled in the same dark-orange on the right side.

"You're welcome," Mikoto warmly smiled in return. She had learned quickly, after Naruto had moved in, that the boy's favorite color was orange, thus he would love to wear orange clothing. He would not mind wearing anything that has orange in it, thus why she had ordered the blue trunks with orange flames in them.

Sasuke, wearing simple dark-blue trunks with the Uchiha crest on the right side, pointed to the pool. "What is our first lesson, Mother, and why does it have to do with the swimming pool?"

"It's simple," Mikoto began explaining. "In order for you boys to master any jutsu, especially those of combat capabilities, you need to have good chakra control." Her eyes held those of her son. "I know you had mastered the **Goukakyuu**, Sasuke, so it showed you have some control over your chakra. Yet, the chakra control exercise, you both will undergo now, will not be easy, so do not be surprise if either of you do not master it in a day."

Naruto felt disappointed. "Chakra control? I thought you would be teaching us a cool jutsu, Kaa-chan."

Mikoto chuckled. "It is cool, I assure you, Naruto-kun. All Konoha ninjas need to know this technique, for it is a basic function that helps greatly when fighting near or on rivers, lakes, and any other bodies of water."

With that said, the raven-haired woman turned around and stepped onto the pool. The boys first thought she was going to immerse into the water, but they watched in awe as she **walked** across the surface like it was solid ground. It was quite an amazing sight.

"That's awesome!" Naruto nearly shouted out excitedly, after Mikoto turned around and stood there in the middle of the pool. Sasuke nodded in accord, for he was speechless.

"Standing on water is vital to all shinobi," the Uchiha Matriarch continued the lesson. "In combat situations, it will not do a shinobi any good if you suddenly are under water, wasting time that could allow an enemy to pick you off. By knowing this technique, you will enable to fight against any opponent on the water's surface, like it was just as solid as dry land." Both boys nodded in understanding to this.

With an encouraging grin, Mikoto gestured to the boys. "Now, it is your turn. Concentrate and push your chakra through the soles of your feet. Try to imagine you are forming a barrier underneath to allow you to stand on the surface of the water. Start with the shallow end of the pool and slowly work your way to walk across the pool."

Both boys complied as they pressed their hands together in the finger clasp and started to concentrate their chakras. They stood there for a couple minutes as their minds focused on the task at hand.

Naruto was the first to attempt the feat, when he began moving with a single foot on the water before taking another. He only managed to take two steps when his feet sank under the waterline. "Awww, I thought I had it!" he complained, trying to keep his feet on the surface. Giving up, he allowed his calves to get submerged before walking the few steps back to dry land.

Sasuke smirked that Naruto failed, yet feeling confident he would succeed, he took his shot. Yet after a few steps, he too began to slip to keep his chakra even as one foot would sink, only for the other to sink when he tried to get the first on the surface. Frowning at his failure, the black-haired boy stumbled back to the pool's edge.

"What's the matter, Teme? Can't do it?" Naruto teased, making his adopted brother scowled at him. "I know I'll get it this time," he said with conviction. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a couple of minutes before carefully stepping onto the water. His expression slowly became one of triumph as he made it to the center, and then he looked over his shoulder at his frowning adopted brother. "How about that…" His smug words were cut short though as his legs began sinking. "What the heck?! I thought I had it!" The blond boy tried to correct himself, but eventually he lost the chakra under his feet altogether. He made a splash into the pool.

Emerging from the water, Naruto was now the one glowering as Sasuke laughed at him. "You were saying, Dobe?" The blond just only narrowed his eyes some more.

Smirking, the Uchiha boy made his second try, and every step he took across the water's surface, his smirk grew smugger. By the time, he reached the pool's center, he stood there and made sure he was able to stand upright. After a minute or so, he chuckled at the glowering blond. "See, I can do it."

Without warning, Sasuke splashed, feet first, into the pool, like someone yanked his support from under him. Coming up to the surface, he was greeted by Naruto, who was laughing at him. "You were saying, Teme?" he said, using Sasuke's previous words at him.

"Boys…" Mikoto chastised with humor, wanting to diffuse any more bickering. "I did say you should not expect to master this technique in less than a day. I will not deem you ready for the next technique, until you are capable to stay on the surface of the water even in your sleep. Once you know how to walk or run over water, you can mold chakra to your hands, legs, and other body parts to keep you from sinking into the water."

Her boys nodded once in understanding. Both had thought it was going to be easy, but it was more difficult than they imagined in order from slipping under the water. Give too much chakra would make it feel draining. Give too little would make your feet sink. A right balance needed to be found to complete the technique properly.

Yet for Naruto, he noticed something that he felt was out of place. "Hey, Kas-chan, why did you bother to wear your swim suit if you're not going to get wet? You should cool down with Sasuke and me." Before either Uchiha could do or say anything, the mischievous boy splashed some water up at the older woman.

As a bit wet Mikoto chuckled at Naruto's antics, Sasuke had thought back to the last time he went swimming with his mother and realized it had been a long time since then. It had been a fun time playing with his okaa-san, and the memory brought a smile to his face. Wanting to relive those times, he set a plan into motion.

"Naruto is right, Mother," he grinned, gaining the other two's attention. "Why don't you join us?" With that said, he splashed as hard as he could at his mother, who closed her eyes at the assault, and with her eyes closed, Mikoto's youngest child swiftly swam to grab hold of one of her legs. His action prompted Naruto to grab hold of the other leg, for he quickly caught on to what the other boy was attempting.

Laughing, Mikoto pretended to resist at first before allowing her two sons to pull her under with a huge splash. She had planned to do a brief swim anyway, but this was more fun as she emerged from the water, smoothed back her wet black tresses, and allowed Sasuke and Naruto to jumped onto her again with the blond playfully wrapping his arms around her neck from behind while the brunet hugging her from the front. It had been so long, since she last had fun with her youngest son, and there was no doubt Naruto, from what she could tell in the past few months, needed all the fun he could get as well.

After several minutes of playing with the two boys, the Uchiha Head gently pushed them toward the pool's edge. "Okay, you two, that's enough fun," she amusedly scolded. "Get back to your training. If you both want to become strong shinobi, you can not slack off your training."

"Yes, Kaa-chan/Mother," came the response before both boys swam to the shore, and once there, they resumed their training to walk on water.

As the two continued the water-walking exercise, Mikoto emerged from the water to sit on one side of the pool while watching the boys. She gave a small smile at their attempts, her hands wringing out the excess water from her mane. It seemed the two actually were egging each other on, making each other work even harder to accomplish the goal first before the other.

The brunette woman recalled how hard Sasuke had work when motivated to prove himself to his father, and now it seemed here was Naruto motivating Sasuke once more to prove himself. If they were going to compete with one another, each no doubt would work hard to win. With a fleeting grin, Mikoto thought that this might not be a bad idea to have these two train together from this point onward.

Her thoughts were jarred upon hearing a question from her blood son. "What is that on your stomach, Naruto? Looks like a tattoo." Her dark eyes fixed on the pair standing on the water's edge as both gazed at the black markings on the blond's stomach.

"Beats me," Naruto shrugged. "I only noticed them just now." Cerulean orbs immediately locked on his adopted mother. "Kaa-chan, what is this?" he pointed to the designs.

Mikoto frowned. She knew exactly what those markings were, but for now, she knew it was best he did not know. "To be honest, Naruto, I have no idea either. I'll find out about it, but as long as it is not harmful, you can continue your training."

Both boys didn't like the answer provided, but each was not going to argue. If their mother didn't know, they might as well let it go.

As she watched the pair returned to their training, Mikoto was thinking about whether or not Naruto should know the truth. It was understandable why the Third Hokage made the law to forbid anyone from speaking the truth about the Kyuubi, but it was cruel to deny the boy the knowledge that he has a demon sealed inside him. How could the boy become a shinobi if he was not aware of the potential danger lying within his body?

Making a decision, the Uchiha Matriarch knew what needed to be done, but first, she would speak to the Sandaime regarding her intentions. She was sure the Hokage would see the wisdom of her choice when it came to the best interest in Naruto's future.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"_There are those glares again,"_ mentally said Sasuke as he walked down one street of Konoha's business district. Being an observant person, he couldn't help but notice the hate-filled eyes directed at Naruto, who walked besides him. Occasionally, whenever he had journey to the stores with Mother and Naruto, he saw some villagers would be quite mean and hateful toward the blond. He had at first summed it up to Naruto's pranks, but some villagers were so filled with hate, it made no sense for a prank to have caused such anger.

"_It's almost like some of the villagers blame Naruto for something very horrible in their lives. Unless he killed some people, which is not likely because he would have been locked up in prison or executed, I really do not understand this hatred." _

Brushing aside the mystery for now, the Uchiha boy set out to the task at hand.

Today was a break in the routine after a month of after-school training. Mother had stated this morning for them to pick-up a small bag of flour after school, since she would have no time today due to a meeting with the Hokage and all the village's clan heads. Once they get the flour, Naruto and he would return home to resume their training.

Letting a small grin graced his face, Sasuke couldn't help but feel proud at the progress he was making. After it had taken a few days to master water-walking, Mother had set for him and his adopted brother to begin wall-walking, where they tried to walk up the walls of the dojo with mattresses underneath them to catch their fall if they failed. That task had taken several days as well, but when it was over, Naruto and he could manage to run, walk, and cling to any solid surface. After that, Mother had set to teach them some basic taijutsu and other things.

"_At this rate, when I graduate from the Academy, I will least be at Chuunin level. I might not be an ANBU Black Ops Captain, but I'm going to get powerful to defeat you, Itachi. Just you wait!"_

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto's voice roused him out of his thoughts. "Here's the grocery store! You almost walked by it!"

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Sasuke schooled his features and brushed by the snickering blond into the store. "I knew it was there, Dobe."

"Sure you did, Teme," joked Naruto as he followed in after him.

Yet a loud voice startled the boys to focus on an old man behind the front counter. "You're not allow in here, brat!" he pointed to Naruto. "Get out!"

Sasuke was confused. "What did he do? My mother and I had been here many times with Naruto, and you had not ever complained."

"Well, I don't mind to serve Uchiha-sama, and in her presence, I can not refuse her. However, I will serve that **demon**," the store owner nearly snarled.

Now Sasuke was really confused. Did the old man just called Naruto a demon, like he really was a demon and not a boy? "I don't understand," he said, his eyes narrowed at the store owner. "If you are refusing to do business with Naruto just because--"

Naruto interrupted his adopted brother with a hand on his arm. "It's okay," he grinned, although it was clear his eyes were not smiling. "I'll wait outside. Just buy the flour for Kaa-chan, and we'll go home."

Before the Uchiha boy could say anything, the blond quickly left the store. "Good riddance," the old man muttered, making Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him again.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Mikoto's son found the flour and paid for it, but before he could walk out, the grocery store's owner spoke up once more. "If I were you, Sasuke-sama, I will be wary of being friends with that boy. Trust me, for he is nothing but trouble."

Black eyes narrowed, Sasuke didn't give the man his attention, for he strolled out of the store to find Naruto waiting for him as promised. "Come on, Naruto. Let's go home."

Given his adopted brother's somber tone, the blond nodded, not wanting to engage in conversation at the moment. He has gotten used to such treatment from some villagers that he figured it was best to just let it go. Nevertheless, it still had hurt him deep down to hear such nastiness at times.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

From the corner of an alleyway, pearl-colored eyes observed the two boys as they walked away from the grocery store, heading toward the Uchiha Compound. The possessor of those eyes felt some sadness upon hearing the storeowner's commotion, which had been easily heard to those outside. For years of watching the boy from afar in regular school and now the Academy, she just could not understand why anyone would hate him.

To her, Naruto was funny, strong, and determine to be the best shinobi he could be. She even admired his quest to become Hokage. If only she has some of his courage, she wouldn't feel so useless and a disappointment to her father.

"Naruto-kun," Hyuuga Hinata said with fondness, as she watched the back of the retreating blond.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Upon arriving home, the two boys found Mikoto in the kitchen as usual preparing dinner. Knowing her, they'd figured out that she was done with whatever business for the day of being a clan head.

Mikoto grinned at their arrival. "Thank you for bringing the flour, boys," she expressed her gratitude, as she took the bag from Sasuke's hand. "I need this if I am to make noodles to go with the soup tonight."

The solemn expression on Naruto's face and the thoughtful one on Sasuke's made the raven-haired woman paused. "What's wrong?"

"Kaa-chan…" began Naruto, looking up at her with confuse and sad eyes. "Why am I hated so much?"

"Yeah," Sasuke immediately added in. "It does not make any sense, especially with what the old man said." With that, he explained everything that had happened at the grocery store.

After her son was finished, Mikoto was furious inside. She definitely would not do business with that old man again, but that emotion quickly passed in favor of melancholy sympathy for her newest family member. She knew this moment would eventually come, ever since she made that promise weeks ago and after speaking with the Sandaime, who gave her permission to tell Naruto after seeing the wisdom that the boy couldn't stay in the dark forever.

Sighing, the Uchiha Matriarch placed the flour on the countertop, before she faced her boys again, but she particularly eyed Naruto. She knew this was not going to be easy, but if all went well, the blond would be more understanding and knowledgeable regarding the reasons behind the actions of some of the villagers.

"Naruto, Sasuke," she started, "what I'm about to tell you is a S-rank secret, and the Third Hokage had made it law that the knowledge is not to be tell to anyone. To do so, will warrant the death penalty. As your guardian parent, Naruto, I was given permission by the Hokage to tell you though."

Seeing both boys nodded in understanding, Mikoto pressed onward. "I know that you were told that the Fourth Hokage died in defeating the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the most powerful of the nine bijuu. Your teachers no doubt told you that he killed the Nine-Tailed Fox in order to protect the village." She sighed. "That was a lie."

Both boys' eyebrows went up, but their mother continued, not letting them time to speak. "The Yondaime did everything he could to defeat the beast, but in the end, the Kyuubi can not be killed. It was just too powerful, for after all, it was the strongest of the nine tailed demons. So, the Fourth made the ultimate sacrifice. In order to stop the Kyuubi, he used a forbidden jutsu to seal away the bijuu at the cost of his life. Just he couldn't just seal the Kyuubi in any object, for he needed a living being, a just-born baby so the infant's chakra coils can adapt to the fox's chakra over time thus preventing it from escaping." Her dark eyes became sadder. "You were born on that day, Naruto, thus he had chosen you."

No one could mistake the shock on the two boys' faces, as one looked at the other, who brought his hands over his stomach. Mikoto nodded at her adopted son figuring it out. "Yes, that's right, Naruto. Those markings on your stomach is the seal to imprison the Kyuubi, who is now inside you."

Slowly, Naruto began to tremble, his head looking down at his stomach, trying to imagine the Kyuubi being there inside him. When he gazed up again toward his adopted mother, the tears and the devastating expression on his face broke Mikoto's heart. "So… It's true. I am a monster. I am a demon." He finally broke down. "I AM A BAD PERSON!"

"NO!" Mikoto screamed, her own tears pouring out as she rushed to kneel down to hug the crying boy to him. "You are **not** a bad person, Naruto! Don't you ever believe that!" After a few minutes of petting his hair and letting him cry out his pain, she pulled away a bit to look deep into tear-filled blue eyes with her equally moist black ones. "You are **not **the Kyuubi, Naruto. You are **you** - Uzumaki Naruto, not the Nine-Tailed Fox. You are the prison who holds the prisoner, thus you make it safe for everyone by keeping the demon at bay."

She grinned a bit. "With his dying breath, the Yondaime actually wanted you to be viewed a hero, Naruto." Her hand touched his cheek, making the blond grinned a bit not only on her touch but also knowing his greatest hero actually wanted him to be a hero. Mikoto however became somber again. "Yet sadly, the fear some villagers have is just too great to accept you as a hero, so the Third made it forbidden to speak about the Kyuubi, hoping you would be given a normal life like any other boy. It didn't help much, for you were still shunned by the villagers."

Despite a few tears still poured out, Naruto felt calmer than he was a few minutes ago upon learning such a revelation. "So…" he sniffed. "You do not see me as a demon?"

Mikoto shook her head, giving a warm, reassuring grin. "No, I truly do not ever see you as a demon, Naruto. You are **my son**. You are a little boy with a big heart and dream to become Hokage. Never stop dreaming, Naruto. Never stop dreaming."

Those words brought a huge grin to his face, feeling his heart lifted from the darkness. The blond flung his arms around his adopted mother, who hugged him back with all her being. With tears pouring out of him once more, Naruto again vowed to himself to become the strongest shinobi in the village, but this time he truly meant it, for he would not want to see anyone he cared about come to harm, including his beloved Kaa-chan. He would rather die than to see her be hurt. This he promised.

Watching and hearing from the side, Sasuke have to admit that this day would be quite unforgettable. Naruto holding the Kyuubi certainly explained the hatred some villagers expressed toward the blond, but in the end, he just couldn't feel the same. His adopted brother didn't act like a bloodthirsty demon, for he was a joking, clueless dobe who loved ramen, learning about jutsus, and his mother with all his being.

"Mother is right," Sasuke spoke for the first time in many minutes, gaining the other two's attention. "I really can't see how someone like you be a demon." He smirked. "You're still a dobe, Dobe."

Naruto blinked at first, puzzled to what his 'brother' was talking about, but he quickly grasped his meaning, especially combined with seeing that smirk. Feeling his heart swell that both Uchihas had fully accepted him regardless of the Kyuubi inside him, the blond allowed a full smile to grace his face. "Thanks, Sasuke!"

Suddenly, the whisker-faced boy tackled the brunet down to the floor, hugging him for being his friend. Mikoto covered her mouth as she softly laughed at the sight.

"Hey, Naruto?" Sasuke spoke up after a minute, his face turning red from embarrassment of being hug like this.

"Yeah, Sasuke?" replied Naruto.

"Get off me!" he ordered with a shove to get his 'brother' off his body. "I'm not your pillow." All the blond did was sheepishly chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.

After standing up, Mikoto's youngest child wandered out of the kitchen. "Come on, Dobe. Let's go train," he slightly grinned.

Naruto immediately followed after him. "Alright!" he responded in cheer. "I'm going to beat you, Teme!"

"You wish, Dobe!" the Uchiha boy parried back.

As the last sounds of the two boys' conversation faded with distance, Mikoto shook her head amusedly. Those two definitely acted like true brothers, despite they were not blood related.

Wiping away her still-moist eyes, Mikoto was glad she told Naruto the truth about his burden. There was no doubt the boy would have many questions, but as long as he knew he was loved by those who cared about him, the young Jinchuuriki would not be swept away by the darkness. The Uchiha Matriarch have a good feeling that Naruto would be far stronger now than ever before.

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**The revelation of being the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi was the second major turning point in the life of Uzumaki Naruto. Some people had thought he would have snapped and gone on a rampage upon knowing the real reason behind all his pain and suffering. Yet remarkably, he kept his sanity and actually grew to understand and forgive the villagers for mistreating him. Such acts of kindness and forgiveness would test him years later during the most troubling times of his life.**

**Yet this moment also was the beginning of the true bond between two boys, who would grow to become more than friends, but brothers. The strength of their relationship would grow strong, and not only to each other, but also to their mother, Mikoto.**

**They say that the love of family is one of the toughest bonds known in the human world. As long as members of the family are there for each other, to support and love one another, the bond can not ever be broken.**

**It is sad that most people sometimes forget that even though the love of family is one of the toughest bonds, it can be sometimes easy to form a crack in the bond. A crack that can expand into a large rift, if one is not careful, especially with one's emotions.**

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TBC (End of Chapter 3)

A/Ns:

1) **IMPORTANT! - **I want everyone to know that I will be alternating writing up chapters between "The Matriarch of Destiny" and "Unexpected Love". Once "Unexpected Love" is finish, I'll be focusing totally on "Matriarch". In other words, I'll be putting out a chapter of "Unexpected" next before returning to writing up the next chapter of "Matriarch."

For readers of "Whatever It Takes II", sorry, but I'm placing that story on hiatus. My Muse wants to focus on "Matriarch" but with "Unexpected" close to finishing, I'm going to try to get that story done.

2) Just to let everyone know that one should not expect any lemons until after the time-skip to the Shippuuden Era. There will be mature topics before the time-skip, thus why I'm keeping this story as Rated M. I mentioned this, because I already have to tell several reviewers not to expect lemons when Naruto is only 12/13 years old. When he is older, only then will lemons might be in store for Naruto.

3) Note that I will be putting out one more chapter that takes place during the Academy years. It perhaps will be a short one, since it is needed for character development that will crucial for the plot, especially after the time-skip.

So for those waiting for me to start the events after graduation, you might have to wait a bit longer. You're free to skip out the next chapter, if you want though.

Next Chapter: Girls and Boys Do What?!


	5. Chapter 4: Girls and Boys Do What?

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :) No copying of my story is allowed. That's stealing if anyone copies my story into his/her own story. Write your own story without taking others' works! (angry glare)

**If sentences are all bold like this, this means it's being told in 1****st**** person in a book.**

Story rating: M (R)(for adult themes, sexual and blood)  
Written: April 2009 - Present

Summary: By surviving the Uchiha Massacre, one woman changed the path of destiny.

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The Matriarch of Destiny  
Chapter 4 – Girls and Boys Do What?!  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

**When it comes to taking things for granted, humans are a natural at times. We are so used to thinking some things are a given in life, that we forget that these things are not always a given. Sometimes, we have to learn these things, especially important aspects that are vital to continual human existence.**

**Take the whole reproductive process, as an example. It is better known as 'sex,' and when it comes to teaching about sex to the children, so they will know better as adults, it can become quite a taxing challenge to find appropriate ways to teach without actually 'showing' them the process. Some adults just wing it and tell everything there is with good educational books. Others couldn't even find the courage to say or teach anything due to being too embarrassed. A chosen few would use explicit material to 'show' without doing the 'showing' themselves.**

**Regardless how children eventually learn this vital human biological function, they will learn it one way or another.**

**For Uchiha Mikoto, she would face one of her greatest challenges as the adopted mother of Uzumaki Naruto. Given Naruto's legendary status, many people thought he was taught well by a woman, who knew what she was doing to teach her adopted son what he needed to know to be a great man. These people's expectations were far from the truth, for the Uchiha Matriarch had found it easier to teach about jutsus than a pre-teen about sex.**

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Running through the streets while zipping on top of walls, roofs, and trees, Uzumaki Naruto felt like life was going good for him. He was on his way to the Academy, where he and his adopted brother were now currently in their third academic year. For the blonde, he didn't mind attending classes, for he least could be with his friends. Just he felt he learned far better under his Kaa-chan than Iruka-sensei, whom he respected for trying to teach him stuff.

Landing on top of the outer wall, which surrounded the ninja school, Naruto smiled at the thoughts of the Uchiha Matriarch who had adopted him and began training him and Sasuke to become shinobi two years ago. Unlike the Academy, where the instructors have to deal with a whole group of 20 or more kids, Mikoto could provided one-to-one instructions better suited to each of her two sons, and the results were everything Naruto ever dreamed. It was hard work regardless, but the blue-eyed boy have no reason to complain at how far he had come under his Kaa-chan's guidance.

He remembered that day two years ago, when he first began taijutsu training. Mikoto wanted him and Sasuke to have a better hand-to-hand combat form than what was taught at the Academy, which was just one-step above street brawling. It had been a surprise to see her in a black & white kunoichi outfit with her hair in a ponytail. Oh, Naruto knew she had to be a great kunoichi ever since she began their training, just that had been the first time he eventually would see her in action. Since that day in the Uchiha dojo, Naruto's admiration for his Kaa-chan had grown, and he knew he could not go wrong under her tutelage. In his eyes, she was **the best**.

Hopping off the wall, the blond strolled toward the Academy entrance, where he met Shikamaru and Chouji. He knew Sasuke would be taking his time by walking to school, so his brother would be arriving a few minutes later. That had been fine with Naruto, for he knew the Uchiha boy well enough to know that Sasuke enjoyed walking to and from school, unless he had no choice but to use the shinobi way, like say to run after Naruto after the blond pulled a prank on him.

Entering the classroom, the whisker-faced boy sat with his friends and waited for everyone else to arrive. Kiba and Akamaru appeared next, and as expected, Sasuke showed up several minutes later with many minutes to spare before the first bell rang. The Uchiha boy sat by himself as usual, while his adopted brother conversed with his three buddies. There had been times that Naruto would sit with his adopted brother, who simply tolerated his presence, but mostly, Sasuke rather sit alone most of the time. Naruto respected his brother's choice and made no issue out of it.

As time moved on and more and more students filled the classroom, the blond student saw a pink-haired girl, who he thought was the most beautiful girl in the entire class. Sitting up at the end of the central bench desk, he waved to the pinkette as she descended the stairs. "Morning to you, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura simply gave him a cold shoulder. "Don't even bother me." Naruto slump his shoulders as he watched the girl took another step passed him and veered to the left to smile at Sasuke, who sat near the windows of his bench desk. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun! Can I sit next to you today?" The raven-haired boy ignored her as he always did.

"I don't get it," groused Naruto. "Teme is not even giving her any attention, so why does she always pay more attention to him than me?"

Passing him by, Ino smirked. "Because Sasuke-kun is cooler and better than you."

Naruto stuck out his tongue at the bleach blonde, who joined the pinkette in saying hello to his adopted brother. "Well, I'm cool too."

Shikamaru shook his head. "Those girls are too troublesome to even try to understand. I can't see why you keep trying to get Sakura's interest, Naruto. Troublesome girls." With that said, he placed his head on the desk and closed his eyes.

"Shikamaru is right," Chouji said next to his lazy best friend. "They're not going to even notice you, Naruto."

Unperturbed, the whisker-faced boy sat back down on his seat and crossed his arms. "Sakura-chan is pretty. Just you wait and see. I'll get her to notice me yet."

Kiba, sitting one bench desk down, snorted a laugh. "Yeah, good luck. I think the girls will only notice you if you brood like the Uchiha though." Naruto frowned some more upon hearing that.

Unaware by the blond boy, lavender eyes from the top-right bench desk stared at him. Belonging to Hinata, she sighed, wondering why Naruto ever notice her. For the past few years, she has watched the boy grown in strength, and seeing his determination made her wanted to be just like him. She wondered what it would be like to be friends with him. _"Naruto-kun,"_ she mentally sighed.

The first bell rang just as Iruka-sensei entered the bottom classroom entrance and faced his students, and he was followed by a 30-something woman everyone recognized as another teacher. "Good morning all!" the scar-faced Chuunin began. "Throughout this week, the first two hours of class will be dedicated to something that some of you might already know, while others do not know. Please bear with Akane-sensei and I. I know the lesson might be consider awkward, but it's best you do know this stuff, given it'll be part of your life within a few years." He nodded to his fellow instructor, who started to go row by row to pass out a book to the students.

Upon receiving the book, Naruto blinked in confusion at the title – _Sexual Reproduction of the Human Species_. Opening it up, he was even more baffled at the drawn illustrations. There was a picture of a man and woman standing together naked, that much he could tell, but other drawings were a mystery, like one showing a weird handle-bar thing that was inside the woman. What was it?

Glancing at his fellow students, the blue-eyed boy noticed some interesting reactions. Most of the girls were blushing a bit, Kiba was snickering, Shikamaru muttered "Troublesome" as usual, and Sasuke raised both eyebrows for a few moments before he went back to his 'emo' expression. Not that his brother was emo, just he sure acted that way in school most of the time.

An hour later, Naruto still was confused. The stuff Akane-sensei and Iruka-sensei were explaining had nothing to do with jutsus or the like. Just mentioning the word 'period' made some of the girls squirmed, so in the end, he just did not get it at all.

As the class filed out to do some taijutsu practice, which Naruto did not need since the form taught was useless to him and Sasuke, the young boy stayed behind to talk with his favorite teacher. "Iruka-sensei?" he asked as he approached the desk.

"Yes, Naruto?" Iruka responded, while Akane stood by.

"What was all that about?" Both adults blinked at him in puzzlement. "What is this sex, and what does all this stuff have to do with it?"

Akane, sporting a small blush, giggled at Iruka's uneasiness. It was clear the boy had no clue to what was being taught, and further more, he had no education regarding sex and its function. Given the blond had been an orphan, no wonder he has no such knowledge yet, since the very subject was mostly left to the parents to teach. Of course, most people would rather wait until their children were least 13 years old or more before even bringing up the topic; that was if they ever did bring up the subject.

Smiling sheepishly, Iruka shook his head. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I don't think I can explain to you what sex is all about without feeling uneasy about it. Why don't you ask Mikoto-sama about it? As your adopted mother, she can explain it better than me."

Naruto frowned. He was hoping Iruka would tell him, but if there was anyone else who would able to tell him what sex was about, his Kaa-chan would. She seemed to have an answer to almost any thing. "Fine. I'll ask Kaa-chan."

"Good," Iruka grinned in relief before gesturing toward the exit. "Now go join the rest of the class outside. I know you and Sasuke have surpassed your classmates in taijutsu, Naruto, but you still have to attend the class in order to pass it." The Academy Instructor chuckled as he watched Naruto left, mumbling about Mizuki-sensei not knowing what he was doing.

Once the adopted son of Uchiha Mikoto left the room, Akane, whose brown hair was shoulder length, amusedly shook her head at her fellow instructor. "You can teach an entire class jutsus, history, and other things, but you can not explain to one boy what sex is all about?"

Iruka half frowned and half smirked at his teaching companion. "I didn't see you come forward to explain everything to Naruto."

"Of course not," Akane countered. "It was you he asked, not me." She smiled kindly. "You were an orphan too. How did you eventually learn about sex?"

The scar-faced man awkwardly chuckled. "Well, one of my Academy instructors introduced me to the Icha Icha book series. Some of the illustrations terrified me at first, but some time after I hit puberty, I became comfortable with the notion of what intercourse was all about."

"I don't think there is a person who was not terrified upon first learning about sex when they were young," Akane admitted. "I certainly was, thinking it was gross to let a boy stick his 'thing' in me."

Laughing together with her, Iruka nodded his understanding. "Yeah, those were the times."

As his laugher died down, the Academy teacher thought about Naruto's situation and hoped that his adopted mother could help him out. Being a bit naïve when it came to courting the opposite gender, Iruka knew he was not really ideal suited to have 'The Talk' with the boy, whom he saw as a younger brother. Being more experienced and perhaps wise, the Uchiha Matriarch might be able to give 'The Talk' without combusting from outright mortification.

"_I just hope Naruto finds a good girl for his 'first time', when he one day will loose his virginity. Kami, I remember my 'first time', and even though the girl was wild, least she had a good time as well." _Iruka mentally grimaced. _"Just too bad she can't tone down that wild side of hers. She might have made a good girlfriend though, if she did."_

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In another part of the village, a female kunoichi sneezed. She blinked before snickering. Taking a bite out of another dango ball from the stick she was holding, the purple-haired woman smirked around her chewing.

"_Is Iruka-kun talking about me? Maybe I should consider getting him to come over to my apartment for another good romp." _

With her mind settled on a plan to meet the Academy teacher in the late afternoon, the feisty jounin woman continued to stroll down the street, not at all concern about lustful male eyes taking in her body that was covered only in a fishnet suit underneath the trench coat and a mini-skirt.

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Rolling his eyes once again, Sasuke wondered, for perhaps the millionth time, why his mother did adopt Naruto. He understood the main reason, but there are times the blond drove him crazy, and currently, it was one those moments. "For the last time, Dobe… I will **not** explain to you what is sex! Ask Mother that!"

"Aw, come on, Teme!" whined Naruto as he strolled besides his adopted brother on their way home from school, passing by people along a busy market street. "I thought that if you know, you'll explain it to me just as well as Kaa-chan will, right?"

The raven-haired boy shook his head. "Mother was not the one who told me, my father did."

"Oh," the blond simply said. Yet after a moment, he shrugged. "Oh well, I might as well ask Kaa-chan."

Sasuke let out a breath of relief. Kami, it was embarrassing to even think of explaining about sex to someone like Naruto. Just too bad their text book only covered the explanations of how the male and female reproduction organs work and how babies were made. It did not explicate about the **mechanism**, a.k.a. sex, of which enable babies to be made.

A couple of minutes later, Sasuke stopped and turned around, causing Naruto to stop as well. "What's the matter?" he asked his brother, but the other boy did not answer as he just narrowed his eyes.

After a moment, Mikoto's youngest son gestured with his head for Naruto to follow him, Confused, the blue-eyed boy did so, and when they walked around a corner, Sasuke immediately grabbed Naruto's arm to halt him. "To the roof," he ordered before leaping on top of the single story building, and being more baffled, Naruto followed, wondering what has gotten into Teme.

The Konoha Jinchuuriki trailed his adopted brother over a few buildings, until they stopped at the corner of one, where Sasuke peered down. Following Sasuke's gaze, Naruto looked down at the corner of the alley below and was startled at what he saw. There was Hinata peeking around the corner and looking like she was searching for something. Yet why was she hiding? Would it be better to just go onto the street to search for something?

Sasuke glanced at Naruto's expression and slightly smirked. It seemed the Dobe didn't realize he has a stalker. The Uchiha knew the Hyuuga heiress was not one of his fangirls, since the girl did not bother him, but over the last few years, he did notice Hinata following Naruto from time to time. It was a mystery though to why the silver-eyed girl was interested in Naruto. Given how she conducted herself in class and the likes, the brunet probably wouldn't have mind having her as a girlfriend, yet all he gotten were crazy girls who did not really took their ninja training seriously.

Grabbing Naruto's arm, Sasuke pointed to the girl below before leaping off the roof to land behind her. She let out a startled squeak at the sudden appearance of the Uchiha heir, only to squeak again as Naruto landed besides him.

"Hi there, Hinata!" greeted Naruto with a friendly grin. "What are doing? Did you lose something?"

"N-N-Naruto-kun," she stuttered with a small grin, her heart beating a bit faster than before. "No, I have not lost a-a-anything."

"Oh?" Sasuke spoke up. "Then why are you standing at the corner of an alleyway, peaking around the corner?" Hinata's eyes went wide at the question, her heartbeat accelerating at the thought of what Naruto would think of her if he knew she was stalking him. She didn't want him to think she was a bad person.

Naruto elbowed his adopted brother. "Come on. Maybe she was waiting for someone, that's all." Sasuke frowned at him, while Hinata felt some relief. One thought that he was so clueless that he couldn't see what was before him at times; while the other continued thinking the blond was a great role model to copy.

Not paying attention to the 'Are you an idiot?' expression on Sasuke's face, the hyperactive boy turned back to the girl before him. "Hey, Hinata? Maybe you can help me out with something."

Hinata couldn't believe what she was hearing. Naruto wanted her help? This was a dream come true. "Of course, N-Naruto-kun, I'll be glad to help you. What is that you need help with?"

Sasuke on the other hand felt a sense of dread coming on. Knowing the loudmouth for the past two years, he knew what the blond was going to ask. He was not disappointed in what came out of Naruto's mouth.

"Can you tell me what sex is about? Maybe you can show me?"

Hinata's heartbeat suddenly accelerated as her entire face quickly turned red as a tomato. _"N-Naruto-k-kun wants to have s-s-sex with me?!"_ The mental pictures of her making love with her crush were too much to bare, for her eyes rolled up into their sockets and the short-haired girl fell backward to the ground as she passed out.

"Hinata!" Naruto cried out in concern as he knelt down besides the fainted girl, not even aware his loud voice caught the attention of many spectators on the street. "What's wrong?!" He held up the heiress's head, looking down at her while she mumbled her crush's name.

Slapping a hand over his eyes, Sasuke shook his head. "Idiot." He knew this was going to happen.

"Can it, Teme!" nearly growled out Naruto. "All I did was asked whether she could show me what sex is about!"

Sasuke and every adult, who were watching them from the street, sweat-dropped.

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Walking along the outside, wooden walkway of their traditional style home, Sasuke and Naruto were headed toward the estate's dojo. Depending on what was in store for them for the after-school training session, they would sometimes work outside or be inside. Mikoto had told them this morning that they would be taijutsu sparring today, so both knew to head toward the dojo where their mother would be waiting.

For Sasuke, he was glad to be home. After Hinata had regained conscious and quickly made an excuse that she was needed at home, the Hyuuga girl nearly ran off, but not before apologizing to Naruto that she couldn't help him. The blond was disappointed, but the amused looks on several nearby men, who had saw and heard everything, thought the boy should be disheartened for an entirely **different** reason. The Uchiha heir knew the story of this incident would spread like wild fire in the village, making him wonder if the Hyuuga Clan Head might be showing up soon to 'kill' his adopted brother.

Reaching the shoji doors of the dojo, Sasuke pushed them apart to reveal the interior, and surely enough, there was the Uchiha Clan Head doing kenjutsu moves with a katana in hands. The boys stood there marveling how fluid and beautiful their mother maneuvered with the long sharp sword. It was like watching a very elegant dance.

With her long, jet-black hair in a ponytail, Mikoto was wearing her kunoichi uniform that her sons first saw two years ago. A black, turtleneck, sleeveless shirt, which exposed the shoulders, covered her torso, while a white, cropped, halter-top vest was over the shirt. Black hugging pants were on her legs with high-heeled, black boots, which covered her calves and displayed the Uchiha crest on the front. A white mini-skirt finished the outfit, and it was attached by white garter straps to the vest. Overall, even with her arms wrapped in bandages nearly to her shoulders, she looked lean and strong while feminine and beautiful.

After completing a wide horizontal arc cut in mid-air, Mikoto halted and turned toward her audience, whom she had sensed before the shoji doors were opened. "Welcome home, boys," she smiled in greeting. "How was school?"

"Interesting," answered her blood son as he entered the dojo

"More like weird to me," replied her adopted son, who stepped just behind his brother.

Seeing her raised eyebrow that told him that she wanted more information, Sasuke sighed. "They started sex education today," he clarified before taking off his backpack to take out the text book to show his mother.

Despite that she knew the lesson was eventually would be taught in the Academy, Mikoto was still a bit surprised upon hearing the course was finally has started today. Sasuke was already knowledgeable regarding what sex was about, so she knew he would pass without problems. Yet she was worried about Naruto.

"Kaa-chan?" asked Naruto, gaining her attention. "What is sex? I'm like way confuse here."

Closing her dark eyes, Mikoto let out a sigh. Just as she suspected and feared, Naruto has no understanding regarding what sex was all about. How could he even understand what was being taught in the text book, if he has no knowledge regarding human mating? Having been an orphan, the blond had no one to teach him the facts of life, and now that she was his guardian, it was up to her to give him 'The Talk'.

Opening her eyes, the Uchiha Matriarch gave a reassuring grin. "After dinner, I'll explain it to you, Naruto, and it's likely it will take awhile to explain everything, okay?" Seeing him smiled and nodded in understanding, she gestured to both boys. "Now put aside your books and start sparring." Her sons obeyed, and few minutes later, they were clashing arms and legs in the taijutsu forms Mikoto had taught them.

After placing away her katana back in its sheath, Mikoto watched her sons spar, taking notes of their stances, strikes, defenses, and other forms. She would improve on their forms where needed.

Yet her mind was also somewhat dreading 'The Talk' with Naruto after dinner. Her late husband had pretty much taken care of educating Itachi and Sasuke regarding the whole sex stuff. Naruto, being naïve and innocent as he was, would require a lot of patience to tell, not to mention some sort of image representation that suited him better than mere text for him to grasp.

Mikoto has an idea what might be the best way to educate her adopted son. She only hoped Naruto would be able to get it, or else she would be spending several nights of having a red face.

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When dinner was concluded and all the dishes, cups, and utensils were placed in the dishwasher, Mikoto, still in her kunoichi uniform, led the way out of the kitchen to the living room a few doors away. Right at the entrance, she turned around and faced her blond son. "Naruto, go inside and wait for me. I'm going to retrieve something from my room." He obeyed with a nod, going inside the living room and living the Uchiha mother with her other son. "Sasuke—"

Being perspective as he was, Sasuke held up a hand to halt his mother's words. "I'm going to study in my room. I don't need to stay around to listen to you explain such things to Naruto. Good luck, Mother." With that said, he walked down the hall toward his room, grimacing a bit on the thoughts of listening to 'The Talk' being conveyed to Naruto of all people.

With a tiny smirk, the Uchiha Matriarch shook her head at her son's retreating back for a few moments. She had not ever asked Fugaku exactly how he gave 'The Talk' to Itachi and Sasuke, but as long as they knew, she had no worries. Just now she wished she really did asked, for the knowledge might help her with Naruto.

Letting out a breath of air, the brunette went to her bedroom to retrieve the object, and upon returning to the living room, she saw Naruto sitting patiently on his cushion at the room's low table. Giving a brave grin, she knelt onto the cushion perpendicular to him on his left and placed the item in front of him.

Curious sapphires gazed down at the item, which looked like a children's book to him. The book was not thick as a school textbook, and from its appearance, he had a hunch it contains pictures inside. The title was baffling to him, for it said _The Act of How Babies Are Made_.

Seeing a bewildered blond looking from the book to her, Mikoto began explaining. "This book is what my mother gave to me to explain what sex is about and how babies are made. The text is simple to understand and the drawn illustrations should give you a clear picture of the whole process. I want you to read this entire book first, before you ask me any questions."

Standing up, Naruto's guardian pointed to the book. "Start reading. I'll be right back." She left, leaving the puzzled boy to his task, which started by opening to the first page.

Returning a few minutes later with a service tray holding a teakettle and two cups, Mikoto saw Naruto appeared to be a little pale as he stared wide-eyed down at the book. Placing down the tray made the boy looked up, but the Clan Head shook her head and pointed to the book to tell him to finish reading it. Blue eyes warily went back to reading the book.

After kneeling back on her cushion, Mikoto poured some tea for her son and then for herself. He immediately picked up his cup to drink, and she didn't blame him. The tea should help in calming down nerves, and after seeing what page Naruto was on, the 37-year-old woman knew he would need the drink to sooth him.

Many minutes later, Naruto closed the book, and from his expression, he looked like he was sick. His eyes traveled to his Kaa-chan at the same time one index finger pointed to the book. "Do girls and boys do that?"

Mikoto nodded with a small sympathetic grin. "Yes, Naruto, they do."

"And… Does my… Little guy… You know… Can do that to a girl?" After seeing her nodded in confirmation, Naruto looked down at the book with a hand over his heart. "I feel sick."

Hearing her giggling, the boy trained an incredulous look on his adopted mother, who took her hand off her mouth to speak. "Naruto, it's not a bad thing. Matter of fact, when done properly between a man and woman, sex can bring great pleasure."

"Pleasure?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, pleasure," Mikoto repeated. "As human beings, sex, or intercourse in another word, is not just use to making babies, but mostly for pleasurable recreation in mutual consent between a man and woman. It's also a very intimate way for a man and woman to express love to one another."

Naruto grasped what she was saying. "So if I love a girl and she loves me back, we can have sex if want to?"

Mikoto nodded. "Yes, you can, but only if you both **want** it. If either of you do not feel to have sex, do not ever force it. It will be rape if you force sex on a girl or woman against her will. Do you like it if someone forces you do something you do not want?"

"Of course not!" the blond nearly shouted in outrage. "Girls are people too! They have feelings like me, and it's wrong to force them to do something they do not want! I respect them, Kaa-chan, as I do you!"

Hearing those words, the Uchiha Matriarch couldn't help but to smile proudly and warmly at Naruto's stance regarding the opposite gender. "Good. As long as you have that attitude regarding women, you'll be fine. There are men out there who treat women like they are just playthings, thinking women are weaker than men."

Crossing his arms, Naruto snorted in disapproval. "That's so wrong. I know girls can be strong and can be great ninjas too. You're one of them, Kaa-chan."

She felt her cheeks blushed a bit on the high praise. "Thank you, Naruto," she smiled as her hand reached over to stroke the top of his head, earning her a genuine warm grin from him in return.

After withdrawing her hand, Mikoto cleared her throat before continuing with the lesson. "As I said, other than making babies, sex is mostly used for pleasurable recreation. However, if a man and woman do not take certain precautions, the woman can find herself pregnant with a baby. There are ways for men and women to have sex without making a baby all the time. I'll explain what these ways are over the course of the week when we review together what you were taught at the Academy."

Picking up her cup, the black-haired mother gestured to his backpack. "Take out your textbook that you have been given today. Now that you understand what sex is about, I want to go over what are the parts of the male and female reproductive organs. There are things that you should know should happen before a man engage in sex with a woman." She took a sip of her drink as she watched the blond boy do what she said, and afterward, her hands opened the textbook to the required pages.

Over a long period of time, the Matriarch of the Uchiha Clan did her best to explain to her adopted son the body parts of the male and female human reproductive organs and their functions, especially in relation to the acts of sex. The embarrassing atmosphere, which had dissipated when Naruto confessed his respect for women and would not ever force anything on them, had returned, making the whisker-faced boy feeling more unease at the mental pictures in his head and Mikoto blushing from the same thoughts.

By the time Naruto understood everything, he felt like he rather eat cold ramen than ever engaging in sex with a girl. "I think sex is too much hard work."

Mikoto chuckled and mentally smirk at his words. _"You'll be seeing things differently when you actually do the deed in several years, young man. You'll see."_

Thinking Naruto has finished speaking, she was about to say something when the boy spoke up again. "A guy has to do all this work to get the girl **ready** for sex? Like touching her clit enough to make her— "

The brunette kunoichi immediately cleared her throat loud enough to stop her adopted son from going any further. "Yes, Naruto, you have to do all that in order to make it pleasurable for her as it would be for you." Mikoto picked up her cup to drink from it, feeling the heat from her cheeks increased to match Naruto's.

After seeing the time on the wall clock, the Uchiha Clan Head placed her cup down. "I think that's enough for one night, Naruto. As I'd mentioned, I'll help review with you the Academy's lessons each night until it's over by the end of the week."

"Thanks, Kaa-chan," Naruto grinned appreciatively a bit at his adopted mother. Least she could able to explain all this stuff better than Iruka-sensei. It was **very** confusing.

As the 11-year-old Academy student placed away his textbook and vowed to put Kaa-chan's book somewhere 'safe' in his bedroom, Mikoto raised a finger to alert him. "Oh, I just remember something. Naruto… As you know, you should not ever force yourself on a woman. It's equally important to not ever **ask** for sex from a woman in public. It's a private thing between two consenting partners, and even though I know of some women who are quite straight forward, I know most women consider it rude and embarrassing to be ask straight in the face in public. In other words, do not say like 'Show me' and things like that."

Realizing what she was saying, Naruto suddenly remembered what had happened after school. He rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled nervously. "Ummm… I think I might have already done that, Kaa-chan."

Mikoto was instantly worried at his words. "What have you done?"

The blond then sheepishly told her what had happened after school with Hinata, and he told her **everything**. By the time he was finished, his Kaa-chan was shaking her head with closed eyes. "Oh, Naruto." Opening her eyes, she pointed to her mortified adopted child. "The first thing you should do at the Academy tomorrow is to apologize to Hinata right away. Make it clear to her that there had been a misunderstanding, and that I, as your mother, explained to you everything. Since the villagers, who had heard you, would eventually spread the news of what you said to the Hyuuga heir, I have no doubt I'll be hearing from Hinata's father tomorrow."

"Sorry about that, Kaa-chan," Naruto apologized meekly.

"It's okay," Mikoto grinned reassuringly as she stroked the top of his head. "You didn't know, and I doubt this incident will cause any major harm. Some embarrassment on both sides, but no major harm."

With that said, the Uchiha mother reached over to plant a kiss on his forehead to tell the young boy that she still cared for him and to boost his confidence. "Good night, Naruto."

"Night, Kaa-chan," Naruto slightly grinned warmly, feeling his heart reminding him again just how much this woman meant to him now.

After watching her adopted son leave to head to his room, Mikoto stood up and strolled to the only cabinet in the room. She molded some charka into a tiny seal on the door to open the chakra lock, and once the door was open, her hand pulled out a sake bottle from the variety of liquors stored. She took a few gulps of the soothing alcohol before softly laughing with her eyes closed and her freed left hand on her forehead.

"_It definitely is going to be one __**very long**__ week,"_ she mentally mused.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Standing against the Academy's outside wall next to the courtyard's entrance, Naruto was a tangle of nervous nerves. He just hoped Hinata would forgive him for what he unintentionally done yesterday. Already some of the girls, who walked through the entrance, called him a pervert, including Sakura and Ino, who told him to stay away from them. Would Hinata do the same and labeled him that way?

After what Kaa-chan taught him last night, the blond boy now has a whole new appreciate for girls and women. He would not ever disrespect them by peeking or leering at them. He was not some crazy, old lecher, who no doubt has his jollies by peeking at women bathing at hot spring resorts.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"ACHOO!"

"What was that?" a female voice called out.

"EEK! There's a pervert peeking at us through the walls!" another woman cried out.

"AAAIIIIIIIEEEEEE!" screamed all the naked women in the hot springs at they ran into the changing room.

Outside the hot springs, a man, with long white hair in a ponytail, cried rivers of tears as he look up into the sky. "CURSE YOU, WHOEVER YOU ARE! I CAN'T GET ANY RESEARCH DONE WITH YOU TALKING ABOUT ME ALL THE TIME!"

He was so depressed that he didn't notice the gang of outrage females, clad in towels, coming up behind him with bats, empty water buckets, and anything to beat the stuffing out of the lecher.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Brushing off the slight chill running down his spine, Naruto noticed Hinata walking through the entrance with a longhaired boy just behind her. "Hey, Hinata!" he called out.

The Hyuuga girl turned and gasped at the smiling boy. "N-N-Naruto-kun. G-Good morning."

"Good morning, Hinata!" greeted Naruto in return as he started to approach the shy girl. Yet the brown-haired boy blocked his way, slightly glaring at him.

"What business do you have with Hinata-sama, loser?" said the boy, who Naruto saw have the same kind of eyes as Hinata. "After what you asked of her yesterday, do you dare speak to her?"

The whisker-faced boy felt a bit put out, but he understood what the other boy was referring. "I just want to speak to her, that's all."

The taller boy stood his ground. "Hiashi-sama, Hinata-sama's father, had ordered me to escort Hinata-sama to-and-from the Academy, since we're both attending it. He told me to keep you away from her."

"Say what?!" Naruto was quite perplexed.

"Neji-neesan, it's o-okay," Hinata chimed in. "I'm sure N-N-Naruto-kun will not harm me."

"Yeah!" the blond agreed, aware of other students watching them. "I'm not going to harm her. I just want to talk to her." Looking around the Hyuuga boy, Naruto's blue eyes held the silver-purplish ones of Hinata's. "Hinata, there has been a misunderstanding. I didn't ask for you to… mate with me. All I had wanted was to know whether you could have helped me understand Iruka-sensei and Akane-sensei's lessons. My Kaa-chan explained to me last night everything what sex is about, and I realized I said the wrong thing to you yesterday. I'm sorry."

Hinata grinned in relief. It was good that Naruto-kun didn't want to have sex with her. However, she couldn't help but felt a tad disappointed. All he had wanted was for her to help him understand the sex education lessons; that was all. She wondered if the blond boy would ever notice her.

"It is okay, N-N-Naruto-kun. You're forgiven," she replied. "As you said, it w-was all a m-mi-misunderstanding." She was enjoyed to see a big smile came to Naruto's face, and it made her feel like a ray of sunshine shining down on her.

Neji snorted in distaste. "I do not see why you have to associate with losers like him, Hinata-sama. However, knowing how weak you are, I should not be surprise."

While Hinata bowed her head, feeling like she has no worth in the world, Naruto's fury was mounting. "What do you mean by that?!" he shouted. How dare this guy think anyone was weak!

The Hyuuga boy kept his eyes steady with angry blue ones. "I meant exactly what I said. You are weak. No matter how much training Uchiha-sama gives you, it is Fate that you are weaker than me. Hinata-sama is weak, and it is fitting that she associates with weaklings as you."

"Why you…!" Naruto growled, wanting to knock this guy's head off.

Seeing her crush's fist clocked, Hinata quickly ran around Neji to prevent a fight. "No, Naruto-kun!" she nearly shouted while holding down his clenched hand. "You'll only get in trouble, if you fight him!"

Looking into soulful, pleading silver eyes, Naruto slowly lost his anger and then nodded in consent. He unclenched his hand and lowered it, causing the Hyuuga heiress to let out a sigh in relief.

Shaking his head, Neji began to walk away toward the Academy's entrance. "It appears I do not need to escort you anymore, Hinata-sama, but until Hiashi-sama tells me otherwise, I will escort you after school today. I recommend to not associate anymore with this loser."

Naruto couldn't believe this…this… jerk! "Who is this guy?!"

"He is my cousin," Hinata timidly answered, making Naruto paid attention to her just as Neji entered the Academy. "And he is r-r-right. I am w-w-w-weak."

"That is a bunch of NONSENSE!" roared Naruto, startling everyone at his intense reaction. "You're only as weak as you make yourself to be! That was what my Kaa-chan told me! If you want to become stronger, you keep training until you become stronger! You train, you study, and you keep doing it until you reach your goal! You do **not** give up!"

Hinata stared in awe at him. _"Naruto-kun…"_

His lips formed that big grin that once again made her feel the weight of the world was gone. "I know you can do it, Hinata. You can become strong. Just keep training and learning! I'm doing it, so you can too! I'm going to keep doing it, until I'm Hokage one day!"

A determination within the timid girl couldn't be contained, and with her heart full of hope given to her by the boy in front of her, Hinata grinned. "Hai!" With that reply, she vowed to do what Naruto said, for to do otherwise would be a shame to the wisdom he had given her.

"Come on, Hinata," Naruto grinned as he gestured to follow him. "Let's get to class." The Hyuuga heir nodded once before trailing behind him.

All the other students in the courtyard, still flabbergasted to what they had witnessed, soon followed suit. Even Kiba, Chouji, Ino, and Sakura were astonished. Only Shikamaru gave an approving grin, after he was briefly stumped as everyone else.

Jumping out of a tree to be one of the last to enter the building, Sasuke was smirking. After two years of living with the blond, he pretty much knew Naruto to not be surprise from that small speech given. Naruto was not going to give up, and the Uchiha boy knew that neither was he. _"Good speech, Dobe. Good speech."_

Watching from the classroom's windows, Iruka proudly grinned at what he had seen.

"Seems Naruto might become Hokage one day," Akane said besides her fellow teacher.

The scar-faced Chuunin nodded before turning to face the room as the students just started to pour through the doors. "Yeah, he certainly has a good chance," he agreed wholeheartedly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So there you have it, Hiashi," the Third grinned with confidence as he pulled away from his crystal ball and rested his back against his desk chair's backrest. "It was all just a misunderstanding as Mikoto said."

"So it seems," said Hiashi, Head of the Hyuuga Clan as he straightened up from looking into the ball before turning to face the raven-haired woman next to him. "Your adopted son has much influence on my daughter, Uchiha-san. If she follows what he told her, Hinata might improve to become better."

Wearing a simple blue button-up blouse with the Uchiha crest on the back along with black pants, Mikoto bowed her ponytail-haired head slightly to display thanks to compliment. "That is entirely up to her, Hyuuga-san. If she does want to become stronger, she needs to train harder." She paused for a moment before continuing. "So… Does this mean you will hold no ill-will toward Naruto for his unintentional come on to Hinata?"

Hiashi nodded once. "You are correct. I will tell Neji that his escort duty to Hinata is no longer required." This time it was his turn to pause before commencing. "Although, I think it will be wise for your adopted son to stay away from the public hot springs baths for a month or so. The news of his **advancement** toward Hinata is already well known in the village, and it will take time no doubt for the bad rumors of him being a pervert to died down to reasonable levels."

Grimacing, Mikoto nodded in total agreement. Naruto already has been given a bad rap by some villagers for being the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, but this latest incident would make some villagers think he has gone hormone crazy. It would be wise indeed for Naruto to go nowhere near the village's hot springs. Not that he would ever need to go there, since the Uchiha estate has a small private hot springs bath; just that occasionally a change of venue from the norm was welcomed.

"_At least I know he will not ever become a pervert, like a particularly Sannin Konoha is well-known for,"_ the Uchiha Matriarch mentally said, being grateful that Naruto would not ever sink to such a level.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kilometers away, a white-haired Sannin sneezed once again as he sat against a tree to tend to his bruises he received from the beating he gotten minutes ago. He quietly wept for a day's worth of 'research' ruined.

"WILL YOU STOP TALKING ABOUT ME!" he yelled to the heavens. He admitted that it was sort-of fun to feel those ladies 'touching' him, but not at the expense of his precious notebook containing his notes for the next book in the series.

Overall, this was shaping up to be a terrible day.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**That week has been quite an educational experience for Uzumaki Naruto. It was not every day that one received such an education without practical experience, but the proud Uchiha Matriarch was able to accomplish the goal. The journal from her personal diary has told that she has gotten through the week okay but not without some embarrassment. It is best for the public reading of this book to withhold any mature content of what she did by herself in her bedroom at times during this week.**

**Yet despite the at-times mortifying educational event, it was known through Hyuuga records that the day of change for one Hyuuga Hinata actually was that morning at the Academy. A once shy, timid girl had taken the very first steps onto a path that would shape her life for years to come.**

**There are many guesses to what might have happened if Naruto and Sasuke had not confronted Hinata that afternoon. Yet many historians do agreed that the girl might not have likely escaped her own personal darkness if it were not for the light of Naruto.**

**Given what was said to her that morning at the Academy, it is no wonder the Hyuuga History books marked this day as 'The Beginning of the Rebirth of the Hyuuga Clan'.**

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

TBC (End of Chapter 4)

A/Ns:

1) The idea for Mikoto's kunoichi uniform came from the art titled "Naruto: Uchiha Mikoto" by O-renji at DeviantArt. Her uniform, described in this chapter, is exactly like what is in the art, except it is more conservative by covering the stomach with a full shirt. I don't think Sasuke would like the idea of seeing his mother wearing a crop-top, showing off her stomach. XD

So if anyone wants to see what Mikoto's kunoichi uniform look like, check out the link in my Author Profile or copy-and-paste the following URL and remove the spaces…

o-renji . deviantart . com / art /Naruto-Uchiha-Mikoto-62173406

1a) The following art has nothing to do with the story, but I have to tell everyone this. :)

I had commissioned tabe-chan at DeviantArt to do a portrait of Mikoto Uchiha wearing a beautiful dress I saw on the Internet, and I have to say that taba did a wonderful job. Mikoto looks quite beautiful in the dress, and it made me wonder if there might be any way in the future to incorporate it into "Matriarch". (big grin)

So check out the portrait art of Mikoto! The link can be found in my profile or just copy-and-paste the following URL and remove the spaces. :)

tabe-chan . deviantart . com / art /MikotoU-portrait-COMMISS-127061376

1b) Okay… This will be my last art recommendation. I made a "Matriarch" collage one can check out at my DeviantArt page. I'll likely make more when I have the time to do them. :)

jupmod . deviantart . com /

2) I used my personal sex ed experience as inspiration for Naruto's. Believe me, when I had my sex ed class in 7th grade, I had no idea what I was seeing or reading. I flunked that class due to my lack of knowledge of what the male and female sex organs were and their functions. My parents didn't tell me anything, and when I did ask my mother, she dodged the question. I eventually learned on my own through combination of porn, sex manuals, and a biology book.

Since Naruto was an orphan in canon, it made me wonder how the boy learned about 'The Birds & the Bees'. I know he looked at dirty magazines in order to perfect his Sexy no Jutsu, but someone either taught the actual knowledge about sex and its function to him or he eventually learned on his own, as I did.

In this chapter of "Matriarch" however, I wanted Naruto to least have someone teach him what sex is all about, and unlike my parents, I can see Mikoto least tried her best to tell Naruto everything regarding sex, etc. It would be embarrassing for Mikoto, but least Naruto was able to pass his sex ed class compared to yours truly. (grins sheepishly)

Next Chapter: Commencement of a Shinobi


	6. Chapter 5: Commencement of a Shinobi

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :) No copying of my story is allowed. That's stealing if anyone copies my story into his/her own story. Write your own story without taking others' works! (angry glare)

Note: This chapter is unbeta, thus do not be surprise if there are some spelling and grammar errors.

**If sentences are all bold like this, this means it's being told in 1****st**** person in a book.**

Story rating: M (R)(for adult themes, sexual and blood)  
Written: April 2009 - Present

Summary: By surviving the Uchiha Massacre, one woman changed the path of destiny.

* * *

The Matriarch of Destiny  
Chapter 5 – Commencement of a Shinobi  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

**In the Shinobi World, regardless of the ninja village, there are important events that eventually will shape a shinobi's life, like one's first kill, promotion, and other career or life alternating occasions. However, none could be found to be just as important as that first shaping juncture in a young shadow warrior's life – graduation. Either the student makes the cut or he or she needs to find a new career in life, and for those who do make the cut, they only will find life to be tough from that point onward. **

**For Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, they had been waiting for this moment, ever since they had started their training under Mikoto. Their future goals rest on their abilities to pass the Konoha Ninja Academy's graduation test, and given their training, anyone would have easily deduced the two boys passing with flying colors. **

**Reality, however, is a whole different species of fish compare to the misconceptions people make from wild conclusions base on very little information. Even today, some still think that Konoha's Greatest Hokage must have graduated without problems, while the truth was he had a hard time with one jutsu that would have derailed his life, if he had found no way to master it. Not every great person comes into life born a genius. **

**Yet the hurdle of one jutsu was not what set this day apart historically from others. The Academy graduation was just one part of a day that would mark a true rite of passage for the sons of Uchiha Mikoto, for an event would happen that would truly transcend two boys into what they worked hard for so long to become… Shinobi. **

* * *

Walking down the street, not paying any attention to those around him, Naruto was in a grumpy mood. Oh, he noticed his friends and adopted brother by his sides, as well as the few villagers, who still gave him glares, although they were few in number these days. It was just not his day that was all.

"You're overreacting, Dobe," spoken to his left.

"Put a sock in it, Teme!" growled Naruto. "I'm **not** overreacting!"

Kiba, with Akamaru on his head, snickered. "For once, I'm in complete agreement with the Uchiha. You're way overreacting."

Realizing just now that he had been shouting, the blond let out a long breathe and tried to calm down. "Sorry, it's just the graduation exam is in a few days, and you know it will be difficult for me to pass. If I can not do all three basic jutsu, I'm going to flunk."

"That's not true, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, trying to sooth him. "I know you can pass the test, as we all will."

After letting a small smile spread across his face, Naruto turned his head to look at the gentle-grinning face of the Hyuuga heiress. "Thanks, Hinata," he nodded, grateful for the friendship he had with her.

Ever since that day he had apologized to her for his accidental sexual come-on, the blond had found talking with Hinata was enjoyable and fun compared to Sakura, Ino, or any other member of the Sasuke Fan Club. Least the silver-eyed girl did not hit him or called him a looser. She had been helpful at times with his studies and didn't mind hanging out with the guys occasionally, as a true friend. Why couldn't all the girls in their class be more like her?

Hefting his backpack a little higher up his back, the blue-eyed boy faced forward again, as he and the others made their way to their homes after another day at the Academy. He could see up ahead the intersection where they would all split to go to each of their respective clan's estates.

"The test is just troublesome," Shikamaru spoke out, just as they arrived at the intersection. Everyone stopped as they all turned to face the lazy Nara, who has his hands in his pockets. "It will make no sense to flunk you, Naruto, especially given you and Sasuke are way ahead of the class, thanks to your mother training you. I mean, would Iruka-sensei actually flunk you for not doing a Bushin when you can easily water-walk, tree-climb, and do other jutsu? If you ask me, the whole test is not particularly fair. Just because a student couldn't perform any of the basics, does not mean he or she can not become a ninja."

"Yeah," Kiba grunted in agreement. "You all heard about that student last year who gotten a free graduation pass? My okaa-san was furious over the whole unfairness of it all."

Sasuke snorted. "Your mother was not the only one who protested. My Mom thought such favors would undermine the whole fairness of the testing process. If the system allows even one to pass like that, what does it show to those who were not allow to pass?"

"Is that what Shikamaru was pointing out?" Chouji talked around his snack munching out of a potato-chip bag. "If that kid was allowed to pass, it means he must have potential. It will not be fair for Naruto not to pass if they allowed that other kid to pass."

"What kid are you talking about?" a female voice asked, startling the six students to face the person, who happened to be the Head of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Mikoto, looking beautiful in a dark-blue half-kimono, black leggings, and high-heel sandals with her hair in simple ponytail.

Softly laughing, the raven-haired woman held up a hand in calming gesture. "I apologize. I didn't mean to startle you."

"Kaa-chan!" Naruto warmly greeted his adopted mother, while his adopted brother slightly grinned upon seeing her.

"Uchiha-sama," Hinata bowed at the waist with a grin, showing deep respect toward the woman who has influenced her crush's life so much.

The remaining three simply acknowledged the Uchiha Head with non-verbal greetings. Shikamaru lazily held up a hand, Chouji warmly waved, and Kiba neutrally quickly waved, still somewhat feeling all Uchiha were stuck-ups even though he was slowly changing his tune regarding Sasuke's mom, whom even his own mom said was a more reasonable person to get along compared to the previous Uchiha Clan Head.

Before anyone could say anything, Sasuke addressed his mother. "What are you doing here, Mother? I thought you would be home by now."

Mikoto sighed as she frowned. "The meeting went way longer than expected." Dark eyes turned to gaze into pearl ones of the Hyuuga Heiress. "All due respect to you, Hinata-chan, but your father is just insufferable at times."

Kiba snorted a laugh, while Chouji and Shikamaru held their tongues, even though they both were in concurrence with the Uchiha Matriarch. Being children of clan heads, the three boys knew the Hokage held a meeting this morning with all the clan leaders to discuss ideas and other matters that could benefit the village, and ever since the Uchiha Clan's power has been reduced significantly since the massacre, the Hyuuga Clan has grown in strength, making them at times try to press their weight to influence village politics to their favor. There was no doubt Hinata's father, Head of the Hyuuga Clan, must have drawn out the meeting into late afternoon due to some proposals that would have caused much heated debate between the clans.

"Now then…" Mikoto began as she grinned a bit. "What kid were you all talking about?"

Shikamaru was the first to speak out to explain everything. "The student who had graduated last year despite he can't perform any of the three basic jutsu required to graduate. He was brought up in the conversation of why it would not be fair for Naruto to not pass the graduation test for not performing a Bushin, when it is clear he is a capable ninja. It will not be fair for him to not pass, when that guy from last year was given a free pass despite he is unable to perform any of the three basic jutsu."

Lips thinning into a deep frown, Mikoto nodded in understanding, for she knew the boy the Nara heir was referring – Rock Lee.

Last year, Maito Gai had come to the Third to request Rock Lee graduate and be place on his genin team. The Taijutsu Master claimed that Lee has a hardworking mindset that would make the boy ideal to become a taijutsu-only ninja. The proposal didn't sit well with many clan heads, due to that allowing a student, who couldn't mold chakra to form any of the three basic jutsu, to pass would be akin to favoritism and totally unfair to many other students who flunked yet were better than Lee. The Sandaime was torn, but in the end, he gave permission to Gai to train the boy, however, if Lee did not show any improvement in one year, the boy would be remove from the Shinobi Corps permanently.

Crossing her arms as she shook her head, Mikoto sighed. She understood why Gai did what he did, but if they would allow a student like Lee to pass, they should overall develop a system that would give many others such an equal chance to prove their worth. Least the Third was considering such an overhaul of the graduation process, if Rock Lee was proven to be a success

"I agree," the Uchiha Head stated to the six Academy Seniors. "It's why I protested against Rock Lee graduating, but Hokage-sama has made the decision. If all goes well however, we might end up with a new system that will give students a chance to prove themselves regardless of inabilities. We just have to wait to see whether Rock Lee has been proven worthy of such a chance."

Hinata, however, saw a problem regarding the topic at hand. "Yet, the old system is still in place, Uchiha-sama. Naruto-kun will not pass, if he can't perform a Bushin."

Mikoto sighed. "I know." If they found Rock Lee to be a success, the overhaul of the graduation process might not be done for another year or two at most, yet Naruto's graduation test would be in a few days. It would pain him deeply to see Sasuke and the rest of his class move ahead of him, while he remained stuck at the Academy for another year or two until the new system was in place. It would be totally unfair, especially given her blond son have skills and abilities that make him ideal ninja material despite he could not perform a simple Bushin.

Upon seeing her adopted son's sulky expression, the 30-something kunoichi gave a small grin of encouragement. "I'm sure you'll pass eventually, Naruto. You just have to keep practicing."

"Easy for you to say, Kaa-chan," Naruto groused with crossed arms. "After two years, no matter how hard I try, I still end up with dead clones."

Softly chuckling, Mikoto placed a hand on his head, a gesture that mostly calmed him down, knowing she did not think of him less due to his shortcomings. "You'll get it," she warmly grinned, causing Naruto to reciprocate the grin with his own.

"Now let's go home," the Uchiha Matriarch briefly gestured to her two children, who nodded in agreement.

"I better get home too," Shikamaru stated before lazily headed off down the left road. "My father is being nagged by Mom to get me to complete the water-walking technique. How troublesome." With that said, he held up his right hand in a good-bye gesture without looking back.

"I better get going too," Chouji said, still munching away happily. "I'll see you tomorrow, guys!" The Akimichi followed his best friend, but not before giving a quick friendly bow of respect to Mikoto.

Kiba snorted a smirk at his remaining classmates. "I'll see you tomorrow." With a final wave and a bark from Akamaru, he jotted after the Nara and Akimichi heirs. No way was he bowing to Sasuke's mom, even though he mentally admitted she was a beautiful woman, yet still nowhere near the awesomeness of his own okaa-san.

Knowing it was her turn to say farewell for the day, the young Hyuuga girl smiled warmly at Naruto, Sasuke, and their mother. "I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun. A good night to you, Uchiha-sama."

"A good night to you as well, Hinata-chan," Mikoto smiled at the heiress.

"Yeah, Sasuke and I will see you tomorrow, Hinata!" beamed Naruto. Sasuke merely just raised a hand, acting indifferent.

Watching Hyuuga Hiashi's eldest daughter sprinted down the street in which Mikoto had came from the Hokage Tower, the Uchiha Clan Head knew that there were few Hyuuga with a kind and sweet personality as Hinata's. There was no doubt the girl gotten most of her traits from her mother, which Mikoto had met only a few times, and judging from the young heiress's own looks, the girl definitely had inherited her mother's beauty as well, not to mention being an early bloomer. It was no wonder Hiashi's princess wore a bulky hooded jacket in order to hide her feminine assets, for her timid nature just wouldn't able to handle the leers of the village's perverted men.

As she began walking down the third intersection path with her sons just behind her, Mikoto knew that in a few years, Hinata would definitely blossom into a real beauty, which would gain everyone's attention no matter if the girl continued wearing bulky clothing. It was just too bad Naruto was so naïve to not see the girl's affections for him, but the raven-haired Uchiha head was glad that Hinata's friendship with Naruto has deterred her blond son's crushing over that Haruno girl.

Mentally frowning, Mikoto knew Naruto came onto to the pink-haired girl due to his starving for attention, but it has lessened over the years because of his focus on his training. She thanked Kami for that, for the older woman just couldn't understand why her adopted son would even had bothered to continue being a punching bag for the Haruno girl's abuse. Unless that little banshee grew up, there was no way Mikoto would even allow that girl to even date Sasuke. Absolutely no way!

* * *

In another part of the village, a pink-haired girl sneezed just as she opened the door to her family's apartment. She let out a squeal of delight a moment later.

"Sasuke-kun must be talking about me!" she concluded before entering her home, her thoughts on the raven-haired Uchiha boy.

* * *

Sasuke sneezed as his small family entered their home, and upon hearing his 'brother' snickered, he aimed a slight glare at him. Naruto was not deterred by his scathing look. "Your fangirls must be talking about you… **again**."

"They're always talking about me, Dobe," the Uchiha heir slightly sneered at the same time his mother closed the front shogi door. "With the exception of Hinata, all the girls in our class are useless, for they do not take their shinobi education seriously. Except Hinata, I wish all of them fail the graduation exam."

Naruto frowned a bit on that. "I'm not so sure, Teme," he said as they strolled down the hallway toward the living room. "Sakura-chan is really smart, and her written test scores are always higher than Hinata's. It's likely she will pass the graduation exam."

Slamming the living room's shogi door open, Sasuke narrowed his eyes in distaste. He couldn't dispute Naruto's point regarding Sakura's test scores, for he have seen them himself when the scores were posted on the classroom's bulletin board. From the looks of the test numbers, it was very likely a few other fangirls would pass. Kami, why couldn't any of them be like Hinata? Least it would have made school more bearable.

Dropping his backpack before opening the shogi door that led outside, the youngest of Mikoto's blood sons gestured with his head for his blond brother to follow him. "Come on. Let's spar." With that said, he strolled toward an open spot in the yard next to the swimming pond/pool.

"Alright!" cheered Naruto before dropping his backpack and chasing after his brother. "I'm going to beat you today, Teme!"

"You wish!" came Sasuke's voice.

With a small, amused smile, Mikoto walked onto the outside wooden walkway, which surrounded the resident's perimeter, and leaned against a wooden column, which held the overhead roof above. She watched her two sons faced each other, and after a couple of moments of silence, Naruto started the spar by chucking a shuriken at Sasuke. From that point onward, the game was afoot.

As the two boys fought with taijutsu on the ground, in the trees, and even on the pool/pond water, the Uchiha Matriarch proudly confessed to herself that both Naruto and Sasuke have came a long way in the past 4 years. Their taijutsu was better than the average genin, making them quite formidable in close range combat. Naruto could now detect low level genjutsu and able to disperse them, while Sasuke's genjutsu abilities were better, for he could sense and cancel low to mid level illusions and even caste a few low level ones. Ninjutsu, however, was definitely both boys' specialty, for they thrived on the challenges ninjutsu gives them. With the exception of Naruto's inability to create a Bushin, the pair could use a good combo of any of the basics with great skill, and they begun to train in elemental jutsu in the past year. Top all this with a few other useful skills, like simple sealing of small objects, and one would get two children already on the low to mid level range of a Chuunin.

After jumping away from Naruto, who stood in the middle of the pond/pool, Sasuke quickly done some hand signs, which caused his blond opponent to be on guard, and once he was done, the young Uchiha formed a hand funnel in front of his mouth and blasted several fireballs at his sparring partner.

Cursing under his breath, the whisker-faced boy dodged and danced out of the way of the fireball strike. The projectiles hit the water, the ground, the wall enclosing the compound, and even a few trees but their trunks were tough to not be burned. Once the barrage was done, Naruto popped his head out from behind a tree and waved an angry fist at his smirking brother. "No fair, Teme! You know I'm way behind in my element jutsu training compare to you!"

A smug Sasuke simply shrugged. "If you can't the **heat**, Dobe, you might as well surrender."

Naruto snarled. "I'll show you who can't take the heat!" With that said, he vanished, which the brunet boy immediately knew what he just saw.

"_Shunshin!"_ Sasuke mentally exclaimed as he jumped into the air, just in time to prevent a just-appeared Naruto from clocking him with a right hook.

As the two Academy Seniors continued their fight, their mother sighed with a tiny grin, knowing why her adopted son was behind his brother in using elemental jutsu. In the many months since he first began his elemental training, Naruto has yet to cut a single leaf with his elemental chakra, which was a Wind type. Because of this, the Fuuton jutsu he had learned thus far were just simple D-rank versions and not anywhere near useful in combat situations. Sasuke, however, had been training in using his Katon chakra ever since he had started practicing to create the **Gokakyu no Jutsu** in order to impress his father. Once he had mastered the Gokakyu, a C-rank technique, it was simple for him to quickly master other fire-type jutsu of equal level or one-step higher. Unless Naruto could catch up in a sudden leap, the boy would always be behind his adopted sibling when it came to elemental jutsu.

Letting out a breath, Mikoto called out to her sons to gain their attention. "Boys…"

"Yes, Mother/Kaa-chan," both boys spoke together as they stopped in mid-fight.

The female Uchiha Head chuckled. Even after all these years, it still was amusing to hear them talk collectively like that. "I'm going to prepare dinner now. Continue your workout for the next 30 minutes. After that, Sasuke, you will continue your Katon training, while you, Naruto, will spend half the time trying to cut that leaf and the other half to master the Bushin no Jutsu."

Sasuke immediately confirmed her order with a "Yes, Mother," but Naruto began to whine. "Oh, come on, Kaa-chan! Why should I waste time trying to master the Bushin?! I am never going to master it!"

Giving a "Are you crazy?" look to his adopted brother, Sasuke provided the answer. "If you're going to graduate, Naruto, you better master it." Naruto slumped his shoulders in defeat.

Mikoto was sympathetic and understanding to her son's plight. "Sasuke is right, Naruto. Keep trying. You have never given up before, and I know you will not give up now."

Encouraged, Naruto nodded his head and smiled. "You're right, Kaa-chan. I'm not going to give up!"

Sasuke slightly smirked. "Good," he said, before surprisingly jumping at his opponent with a flying kick.

With a startled cry, the blond dodged the attack prior to pointing accusingly at his sparring partner. "That's a low blow, Teme! I was not ready!"

"We're ninjas, Dobe," the raven-haired boy scoffed. "You suppose to anticipate surprise attacks, not to mention we also employ surprise attacks. It's part of our profession."

Not wanting to admit his brother was again right, Naruto simply howled out a battle cry and launch himself back into the fight. He was determined to win this round.

After shaking her head amusingly at what she just witnessed, Mikoto strolled back inside toward the kitchen to prepare dinner, and while donning her apron before taking out the food to begin cooking preparations, the Uchiha mother knew it was going to be another typical night for her family.

* * *

Watching the students filed out of the classroom, Iruka smiled in pride that many of them would past the graduation test tomorrow with flying colors, yet when his eyes fell on a partly-gloomy blond boy, the smile fell as he sighed. It felt so unfair to know Naruto would not likely pass due to his problem of forming a Bushin. The boy have a great potential to become a powerful ninja, thanks to his adopted mother, but unless the rules were rewritten to allow some leeway to such promising students, the rules would be followed to the letter.

As he saw the whisker-faced student walked out into the hallway, the Chuunin Academy instructor wondered why life have to be unjust to his pupil, who he had considered his favorite for so long, knowing how much alike they were when it came to being orphans and having the need to get attention to strive off the feeling of loneliness. Iruka was thankful that Naruto least was given a chance of a good life, all due to the kindness of Uchiha Mikoto, so even if the boy was to fail the exam tomorrow, he would have another year to train under the Uchiha Matriarch's tutelage. Yet, knowing Naruto, he rather graduate with the rest of the class than be put on the sidelines, especially given how well he seemed to work with Sasuke at times.

A throat clearing alerted Iruka to his fellow Academy Instructor, who smirked knowingly at him from behind the front desk. "Worry about the class clown, my friend?" Mizuki teased.

Iruka slightly grinned back. "He's not much of a class clown compared to Kiba, so giving that title to Naruto does not really fit him. He has come a long way from his dismal first year as a Freshman."

"True," Mizuki admitted sincerely, remembering how bad Naruto's grades were then. "Just all that work will mean nothing if he can't form a Bushin."

Sighing, the scar-faced ninja nodded once in agreement. "Yeah. It's why I wish Rock Lee's evaluation had been six months ago instead of one full year. Maybe the rules would have changed in time to allow Naruto to pass."

After coming around the desk, Mizuki patted his friend on the back. "Hey, don't worry. If Naruto does not pass tomorrow, he'll pass next year, when the rules will likely be rewritten. I heard Gai's student is doing pretty darn good, so it is very likely the Hokage will see it as a good sign to reexamine the graduation exam criteria."

Giving a reassured grin, Iruka clapped his long-time friend on the shoulder. "You're right." With that said, he turned to the desk and picked up the papers on it to take back to his office. "I'll see you tomorrow, Mizuki."

"Yeah," the silver-haired instructor waved at his fellow teacher, who headed toward the exit. However, once he was alone, Mizuki dropped the grin in a sneer. _"Like Hell I will like to see that demon brat graduate. Curse that Uchiha bitch." _

Iruka was not kidding that Uzumaki had came a long way. Instead of being the dead last, his total grades were currently average. He was not much for academics, but his knowledge least kept him above the passing grade in his written tests, yet he was superb when it came to the actual physical work of ninjutsu and taijutsu, which place the kid second place behind Sasuke in the overall class. If it weren't for the academic tutoring and physical training Uzumaki's adopted mother had given him, Mizuki knew the little demon would currently be the dead last of the class.

Mizuki once more cursed the fates of allowing Uchiha Mikoto to survive the Uchiha Massacre. He and some of the other instructors would had have an easy time to sabotage the Kyuubi container's education, if it weren't for the present-day Uchiha Clan Head. Trying to even hinder the brat's training has huge consequences, for that what had happened to a fellow Kyuubi hater.

Two years ago, a fellow taijutsu instructor actually tried to tell Naruto that his stances and fighting style were all wrong, but the little runt was quite vocal that his Kaa-chan's taijutsu was right. The instructor gave the blond a failing grade for not following what he told the boy. The next day, the chuunin tried again to get the demon to do the bad taijutsu, yet when he showed the kid what needed to be done, the guy was interrupted by a surprise visit from the Hokage, Mikoto, and several ANBU. It turned out that the Kyuubi container told his Kaa-chan about the instructor's bad teaching, and in turn, the matriarch told the Hokage. They had laid hidden to watch the instructor teach Naruto, and when they realized the teacher was trying to get Naruto to learn a badly form of taijutsu, it was clear to them the man was trying to sabotage Mikoto's adopted son's educational progress. The instructor was arrested and demoted, and when he had left the village in protest, he became a nukenin. He had tried to fight off hunter-nins, but in doing so, the guy was killed. Mizuki and the others knew it was best to not even try to hamper with Uzumaki's education ever again.

Yet despite the setbacks, Mizuki allowed a confident grin to crease his face, for tomorrow would be a victory for him over the Jinchuuriki. He knew the boy was awful when it came to doing the Bushin, thus the Chuunin was sure the little demon would fail the graduation exam.

"_With his failure, I can spring forth the plan in motion. By tomorrow night, Uzumaki and even his so-called 'mother' will have their names covered in mud, while I will finally be on my way to Orochimaru with the means to be one of his top officers. This is just too easy."_

Still grinning, Mizuki picked up his paperwork off the desk and left the classroom, feeling positive that he would at last win one over the Kyuubi boy and make him suffer.

* * *

Walking with a bag of groceries in hands, Mikoto, in a simple, blue blouse and black pants, would be glad to be back home as she strolled along the street. As much as she understood the duties of being a clan leader, she sometimes wished things were simpler. Not only did she have to do the work of being Clan Head, she still looked after her two sons as a devoted mother, not to mention being their teacher as well.

Many villagers thought the Uchiha Matriarch did not need to burden herself so much. After all, with the entire wealth of the Uchiha Clan at her disposal, she could hire a housekeeper to cook, do house choirs, and look after the boys, much as the Hyuuga Head had done after the death of his wife. Yet Mikoto just did not feel it was right to have a stranger look after Sasuke and Naruto, especially not knowing whether the person held a grudge against her adopted son for being the Kyuubi vessel. Besides, her clan only contained now two official members thus making it far easier to look after, giving her the time to do any motherly duties.

Mikoto chuckled. With the exception of landscaping chores, which she left in the hands of a trusted landscaper her clan knew, she had divided the house chores for her and her sons to complete. It had been easier when she was just a housewife, but now that she ran the clan, she just didn't have the entire time to do everything by herself. The boys had been old enough at nine years old to clean their own bedrooms and to do some minor chores around the house. By now, they were at the age to least capable to cook for themselves, especially if she was not home to prepare dinner.

"_Well, I certainly can hope now that Naruto does not burn up his food,"_ the raven-haired mother mentally said as she chuckled again. Having had lived by himself for many years, the blond boy knew very little cooking skills, for he had ate mostly instant ramen, given it was the easiest to prepare. It had taken Mikoto a while to teach her golden-haired son how to properly prepare and cook a good meal without causing a kitchen catastrophe, while Sasuke faired much better without major problems. If her children were going to become shinobi, it would benefit them to have good cooking skills to conjure up a tasty meal when out on the road or in the wild, for they would not be always be bunking in a village during long-duration missions.

Entering her estate's main entrance into the courtyard, Mikoto frowned as she thought of Naruto's present dilemma. Despite all his hard work in the past few days, he still has yet to conjure up a Bushin that was not dead upon creation, thus his frustrations were growing. She certainly did not blame him for being disgruntled, for in order to advance to the next level along side with the rest of his class, he needed to ace that jutsu.

After passing through her home's front door, the Uchiha Matriarch strolled down the hallway to drop off the groceries in the kitchen prior to venturing outside to where her two sons were practicing next to the pond/pool. As usual, she observed from the wooden walkway as the pair trained. Sasuke was doing some taijutsu on his own, while Naruto has his hands together in the typical hand clasp that indicate he was molding chakra.

Eyes on the blond, Mikoto watched at Naruto tried to form a Bushin. He called out the jutsu's name, and a small cloud of smoke followed. When the view cleared, two Bushins were formed, but it was obvious they were dead, as they lay on the ground unmoving. Her son growled and cancelled the jutsu to start again, but a few moments later, the same results were seen.

"AAAAARGH!" Naruto cried out, his fingers pulling on his hair. "Why can't I create a simple Bushin?! This is soooo unfair!"

Having been startled out of his training, Sasuke frowned at his brother. "You're not giving up, aren't you?"

"Of course not, Teme!" the blonde raised a fist as he turned an angry look at his adopted sibling. "I'm not giving up! It's just…" His shoulders slumped as his anger deflated. "It's just that I know I'm not going to master this technique by tomorrow." Blue sad eyes looked down at the ground as he kicked a small pebble. "I guess I'll be spending another year in school, while you and the others graduate."

Sasuke deepened his frown upon hearing that, for it appeared what Naruto said was the most likely scenario to happen tomorrow, and being honest to himself, the young Uchiha would rather see his blond brother graduate along side him. For the past four years, while they trained together, the young heir knew he had gotten stronger due to the competition he had with Naruto. Each has gotten better due to the hard work of trying to surpass the other, and if Naruto ended up not graduating with him, Sasuke knew it would not be the same.

Closing her onyx eyes, Mikoto felt her heart cracked a bit upon hearing her adopted child's downtrodden words. It was heartbreaking to think Naruto would fall behind while Sasuke advance ahead of him. Just what could she or anyone do to salvage hope in such a situation?

As her mind reflected on the problem, the Head of the Uchiha Clan remembered what her sensei had told her a long time ago during her genin days…

"_I do not understand, Sensei. I was just following the rules according to the book."_

"_The rulebook is okay at times, Mikoto-chan," he sighed. "It's just not meant to be followed to the letter. It's more of a guidebook than strict step-by-step instructions. There are times you have to think outside the box in order to solve a problem."_

"_Would that be cheating, if we go against the rules?"_

"_We're ninjas, Mikoto-chan," he smirked. "Ninjas, especially in the heat of battle, mostly do not follow __**the rules**__. Most of the time, we __**improvise**__, especially if one can't solve a problem through regular means. Therefore, if you can't solve a problem through the rules, try to go __**around **__them. As long as it reaches the goal, you're okay."_

"_I'm still not sure, Sensei. Are you sure that I can do this jutsu?"_

"_Mikoto… You're __**thinking**__ too much. Do you really think you have a long time in the middle of a battle to think what you need to do?"_

"_Of course not! The enemy will be upon you if you pause even for a moment! You have to either think on your feet or use your instincts!"_

"_Precisely," he grinned. "You're not exactly a person who thinks on her feet, but your instincts have not failed you. Trust me, you can do this jutsu, especially that your affinity is Fire as most in your clan are. Stop thinking, and just __**do**__."_

"_Okay… If you say so, Sensei," she sighed. _

Eyelids half opened, Mikoto frowned in thought. Given she has been a housewife for so long, she has forgotten that lesson her sensei had taught her, thus the brunette had thought Naruto have no choice but to follow the rules in order to graduate. Yet now, she wondered whether there was a way around those rules.

"_What can Naruto do to go around the rules? I have no doubt that he will require to perform a Bushin, but he is not good in it. He has so much chakra that makes it nearly impossible for him to mold the small amount to form a Bushin, even with the chakra control he has learned in the past four years. Is there any other way to form a Bushin?"_

Suddenly, an idea struck Mikoto with such clarity that her eyes went wide at the possibilities. _"Kami… It can't be __**that **__simple." _Her dark eyes took in her frustrated adopted son, who once more failed at another attempt to form a Bushin.

With a small smile forming on her face, the Matriarch of the Uchiha Clan made her decision._ "Given the jutsu was too much for me to use, I had rarely use it since Sensei had taught it to me, but in Naruto's case, I think it will work for him wonderfully." _

Stepping off the wooden walkway, Mikoto approached her blond son, who stopped molding chakra the moment he noticed her drawing near. Sad blue orbs looked up at her. "I'm not going to make it."

Mikoto let a tiny smirk graced her features. "What if I tell you there is another way for you to form a Bushin that can work for you?"

Sky-colored eyes went wide in surprise and hope, and turning to his adopted brother, Naruto saw he was surprise as well before returning his gaze to his adopted mother. "There's another way, Kaa-chan?!" Mikoto nodded a few times in confirmation. "Why didn't you tell me this before?!"

"Because I was thinking too much of the rules, Naruto," admitted the older woman truthfully. "I thought you need to form a Bushin according to what the Academy have taught you, but I now realized there is a way **around** that, and believe me, this jutsu I will teach you now will help you get around your problem."

Naruto couldn't help but to shout out in joy as he wrapped his arms around his guardian in a hug. "Thanks, Kaa-chan! You're the **best**!"

Chuckling at her son's enthusiasm, Mikoto returned the hug, her left hand stroking the top of his head. "You're welcome, Naruto."

After another minute, the Uchiha Head broke the hug and took a step back to look squarely and firmly down into those twin sapphire gems. "Okay now, we have no time to waste. This is what you need to do in order to perform the jutsu. Listen carefully, and follow my instructions **precisely**." When she saw Naruto nodded that he understood, the black-haired kunoichi continued the lesson.

As he watched his mother taught his brother, Sasuke was curious to whether Naruto was even capable of performing such a technique. From what he knew of the jutsu his mother mentioned, it was a high level variation that only Jounin were capable of mastering. Yet if his parent were not confident his adopted sibling could perform it, she would not be teaching him it right now.

A small smirk slowly appeared on the young Uchiha's face. _"This should be interesting,"_ he mentally said, as he observed the blond boy begin practicing the jutsu.

* * *

The entire classroom erupted in girlish squeals and delight as Sasuke entered the bottom entrance with a Leaf hitai-ate on his forehead. Every girl, with the exception of Hinata, cheered that the top student of the class passed the final test of the graduation exam. There was no doubt to everyone that the Uchiha would ace the exam. It would be a disaster, if he had failed, especially to the members of the Sasuke Fan Club.

Walking in just behind the black-haired boy, Iruka, clipboard in hand, called out the next student on the list. "Uzumaki Naruto!"

The student in question rose from his seat and walked down the steps toward the bottom, and along the way he passed his brother, who gave a smirking side-glance at him.

"Good luck, Dobe," Sasuke said as he passed the blond.

"Thanks, Teme," Naruto smirked back, feeling confident that he was going to ace this test. A few moments later, the whisker-faced boy followed the pony-tailed teacher out of the classroom to a nearby room.

Once Sasuke sat back in his usual seat by the windows, his fangirls came forward much to his displeasure, particularly Sakura and Ino, who stood together on the stairs besides his bench desk. Being the top female student of the class, the pinkette passed the graduation exam easily, and knowing the blonde, there was no doubt she would pass too when she takes the final test after Naruto. For the millionth time, the Uchiha heir wished both annoying girls had not bothered to even seek to become kunoichi.

"Congratulations, Sasuke-kun!" chirped Sakura, wearing her typical red dress over bicycle shorts. "I knew you would pass!"

"Yeah!" agreed Ino, wearing her purple outfit. "You certainly look like a shinobi now!"

Sasuke gave a "Hnn" before placing his chin on his hands and resuming his typical 'Emo' pose, as his adopted brother has called it. Inside his head however, he was rolling his eyes, for it was obvious he looked like a shinobi, thanks to his mother, who had bought new clothes for him and Naruto halfway through the senior year.

Ditching the blue, short-sleeved shirt and white shorts, he had worn for the junior year; Sasuke currently was wearing a gray/white short-sleeved shirt, black pants, and an open, sleeveless, dark-blue vest with a black waist belt over it. The belt has side slots to hold scrolls, and the vest has the Uchiha crest embroiled on the back as well as inner and outer pockets to hold small stuff. His shinobi pouch was attached to the waist belt, and as usual, a kunai holster was on his right thigh with binding wrap to prevent the leather holster belt from bruising his skin through the pants. Finishing off the outfit, he wore black fingerless gloves and elbow pads.

Naruto's new attire was different, yet in ways it was the same as Sasuke's. He wore black pants, a long-sleeved, black, turtleneck shirt, and open, short-sleeved, dark-blue vest with black waist belt, which was the same as his adopted brother's. A spiral pendant, given to him by the Third Hokage, was affixed to the vest's right sleeve, while a red spiral, seen on the back of all Chuunin and Jounin flack-jacket vests, was embroiled on the back of the vest. The blond's shinobi pouch and kunai holster were placed in the same positions as Sasuke's. Finishing off the outfit, dark orange flames were around the bottom hem of the vest and pants.

Mentally snorting a chuckle, Sasuke still couldn't understand Naruto's obsession with wearing orange. The Dobe told Mother that he wanted to have some orange in his shinobi clothes, despite Mother had told him that the color was one of the worst anyone could wear on a mission. So she ordered the vest and pants to have orange flames etched into the material, and the blonde loved it. The flames least didn't stand out so much compare to Naruto's original request to have the entire vest be orange. That really would have painted a "Kill Me!" sign on the boy.

Ino's voice brought the young Uchiha back to reality, his eyes veering to the right side to see the Yamanaka's smirking face. "Knowing Naruto is bad in doing the Bushin, it's safe to say that he will not pass. It's good that joker is not going to become a shinobi." Sakura nodded in agreement.

Sasuke couldn't help but to snort as his lips curled up a bit on one side. "You're wrong," he said, gaining everyone's attention. "Naruto is going to pass the test."

Shock was evident on everyone's face. Did Sasuke actually defend Naruto? Even knowing Naruto was his adopted brother, the Uchiha heir had not ever once defend or praise him during the pass four years. The two only spoke occasionally in school; respecting each other's privacy especially given they were living together under the same roof where they had butted heads often, thus the Academy was one place where they could be away from each other for awhile.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the Uchiha, for he had heard a different message than the others. _"Sasuke was sure Naruto is going to pass the test. He wouldn't have said such a statement to only defend Naruto. This means Naruto either has mastered the Bushin or found another way around the problem. Knowing Naruto, it's highly likely he has not mastered the Bushin, therefore meaning he has found another way. The question is what can he do to get around the problem? If he can't do a Bushin, he's toast." _

Unable to even figure out the mystery to how Naruto would pass the test, the young Nara gave up and trained his eyes on the bottom classroom exit. He knew the blond would be coming back soon and only then would the entire class find out whether Sasuke was right. If this was true, Shikamaru definitely would want to know how Uzumaki gotten around the problem of performing a Bushin when he couldn't.

* * *

Standing in a large empty room with only a table where the two Academy class instructors sat in front of him, Naruto felt giddy. He knew he would be acing this exam, and from what Kaa-chan had told him and Sasuke, it was highly probable the teachers would be asking each student to perform the hardest task that would most likely fail that student during the practical test. For him, the blond knew it has to be the Bushin. What other task was known to Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei that would be the hardest for Naruto to achieve? No other, so it really has to be the Bushin.

Iruka's voice brought the whiskered boy out of his reverie. "Okay now, Naruto. In order to pass this test, all Mizuki and I want you to perform is a Bushin. Simple as that. Make one Bushin and you'll pass the test."

Despite the reassuring grin on his face, the scar-faced chuunin felt a deep regret inside him. He hated to do this to Naruto, but he has to follow the exam's guidelines. It would be wrong to play favorites and allow the boy to pass easily. Iruka just knew the next minute or two would be a heartbreaking scene for him to watch.

Mizuki, on the other hand, was smirking madly inside. This was the moment he was waiting for. The demon brat was going to fail.

Yet Naruto's grin did not falter upon hearing what he needed to do, for his grin went wider, baffling the two teachers. "No problem, Iruka-sensei," he said with confidence, before his hands came together to form a hand seal with two fingers of the left hand going behind the other hand's fingers in a cross. Both adults' eyes went wide just as Naruto exclaimed the name of the only jutsu they both knew that cross hand seal was going to create. "**Kage Bushin no jutsu!"**

A cloud of smoke appeared on both sides of the blond boy, and when it cleared up a moment later, Naruto was joined by not just one, but **four **clones! Solid clones! The two instructors were dumbstruck.

"Are they really Kage Bushin?" asked Iruka as he stood up, his eyes never leaving the five grinning Narutos.

"You bet, Iruka-sensei!" all five Narutos spoke together, making it sound like something out of a stereo-speaker system.

"They can't be real!" Mizuki called out, still not believing what he was seeing, even though his senses were not detecting any genjutsu or tricks.

One of the Kage Bushin Narutos walked over to stand beside Mizuki before gently punching the man on the arm. "Ow!" the silver-haired chuunin exclaimed, rubbing his arm just as the Kage Bushin Naruto dispelled.

Iruka couldn't help but to laugh in relief and joy, for this was not the pitiful scene he had imagined a couple minutes ago. "They're Kage Bushin alright," he pointed out to his fellow teacher prior to turning his head to face the real Naruto and his remaining clones. "Well done, Naruto. You pass."

"Alright!" all four Narutos cheered with two of the Bushins slapping their hands together in a high-five.

Chuckling in seeing his favorite student was happy, Iruka reached down and picked up a brand new hitai-ate off the table before calling Naruto out. "Here, Naruto. Take your headband and join your classmates."

After the remaining three Bushins vanished in puffs of smoke, Naruto strolled over and took the offered hitai-ate, and when the newly graduated shinobi looked at it, he saw the metal reflecting the room's ceiling lights. Joyful blue eyes gazed up into the grinning face of the scar-faced Academy instructor. "Thanks, Iruka-sensei!"

Before Naruto took a step to leave the room, Mizuki spoke out. "How did you learn that technique, Naruto? From what I know, the Kage Bushin is a kinjutsu and only allowed to be taught to jounins with large enough chakra reserves."

Rubbing the back of his head with his left hand, Naruto widely grinned. "Kaa-chan taught me it last night. She said that it was a way to get **around** the problem of performing a Bushin. If I have too much chakra to form a regular Bushin, it might not be hard for me to create a Kage Bushin. She was right, for I had mastered the jutsu in less than two hours."

Both men were once more flabbergasted. Even though they knew the Kage Bushin was only a B-rank technique, very few people actually knew how to perform it due to the extreme dangers of dying from chakra exhaustion. It was just too dangerous to be taught to just anyone, thus why the instructions to do the jutsu was sealed away in the Scroll of Seals and locked in safe keeping with the Third Hokage. Knowing that Uchiha Mikoto knew how to do the Kage Bushin was quite a surprise, not to mention Naruto mastering the procedure in less than two hours.

Breaking out of his dumbfounded look, Iruka chuckled before reaching over to affectionately rumpled the top of Naruto's head. "Your Kaa-chan is right, Naruto. That was a clever away around your problem of doing a regular Bushin. Well done."

Smiling widely with pride, Naruto once more thanked Iruka and as well as Miszuki, before he departed the room with a slight skip in his walk. The pony-tailed chuunin shook his head a bit as he followed the graduate back to the regular classroom.

Mizuki mean while was jotting down the test results on his clipboard, yet inside his head, he was not happy at all. _"Curse you, Uchiha Mikoto! Now I really wish you had perished along with the rest of your clan!"_

* * *

Walking into the classroom, Naruto first noticed that the entire room was quiet, for everyone was looking at him. Giving a big, wide grin on realizing why his peers were looking at him, he raised his hand and displayed his headband, and the reactions were instantaneous.

"You pass!" Kiba shouted approvingly as he rose from his seat and pointed to the blond prior to Akamaru giving a few yaps in endorsement as well. The Inuzuka's response caused most of the others to quickly react.

"No way!" Ino called out in shock.

"But he couldn't have pass!" an equally shocked Sakura said, pointing at Naruto. Many of the other students agreed, with the exception of Sasuke, Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Hinata, who was pleased to see the boy she admired graduated.

Stepping up the stairs, Naruto chuckled. "You can not deny what I have in my hand, Sakura-chan," he stated a bit smugly as he held the hitai-ate up in front of the pinkette, who still just couldn't able to believe it, despite the evidence in front of her.

A large throat clearing made everyone suddenly quiet down as they trained their eyesight on Iruka-sensei standing by the bottom exit. "There is one more student to test. Yamanaka Ino!"

After giving a small "Eep" on realizing it was her turn, Ino quickly joined the waiting teacher to be escorted out of the room.

"Congratulations, Naruto!" Chouji spoke out immediately after Ino left.

"Yeah, congrats, Naruto," followed Shikamaru with a small grin.

"Hai! Congratulations, Naruto-kun!" Hinata smiled from the desk behind Chouji and Shikamaru.

Crossing her arms, Sakura sighed. "Well, I can't deny that headband is real, so congrats to you, Naruto," she admitted, swallowing her pride. Green eyes holding onto blue ones, the pink-haired girl raised a finger at her fellow graduate. "Just curious… Did they make you perform the Bushin?"

"Yep," Naruto grinned.

Seeing he was not going to elaborate, Sakura pressed on. "So you were able to perform a Bushin?"

"Yep," Naruto chuckled, enjoying seeing Sakura's ire grew based on that ticking right eyebrow.

Shikamaru sighed. "The question should be this… Did you manage to form a **regular** Bushin?"

This time, everyone watched as the snickering golden-haired boy shook his head. "Nope."

"Say what?!" Sakura shouted in disbelief, which was echoed by many others in the room. "How can you say you were able to form a Bushin, yet you weren't able to form one?!"

The pony-tailed Nara shook his head. How stupid could Haruno get? She was the top kunoichi of the class, and she couldn't figure it out? "It's simple. Naruto must have formed a Bushin other than a regular one. Right, Naruto?"

"Yep," Naruto answered, his grin growing wider. Sakura felt strongly to punch the boy into the next country, adopted son of her Sasuke-kun's mother or not.

Unable to take the suspense any longer, Kiba shook a hand at his blond friend. "Well, what was it?! Don't leave us hanging like this!" Akamaru barked in agreement.

Naruto pretended to think about it for a moment before shaking his head, his wide grin making him look like a mischief fox. "I think I'll keep that ace up my sleeve for the time being."

Kiba, Sakura, and most of the room groaned in disappointment, while Hinata, Chouji, and Shikamaru snickered. "Card Shark," the Naru heir muttered in amusement.

Sasuke allowed a small smirk to form on his face. Mother had pointed out the importance of keeping certain skills and knowledge a secret until the appropriate moment, for what good was going around the place and showing off all your abilities for your opponents to figure out ways to defeat you? If you keep your best jutsu and talents a secret, it would provide hidden weapons to surprise your adversaries with, especially in battle. To teach this, Mother had taught the gambling game of poker to her sons, and unexpectedly, they found Naruto has an uncanny knack for winning most of the times. To test things further, they had played other card games, and the Dobe still keep winning, thus why Shikamaru had called Naruto, Card Shark, when the entire class found out about the blond's lucky gambling skills.

Mentally shaking his head, the Uchiha heir was thankful that his 'brother' was not good in all games, just gambling ones seen at casinos. When it came to games of Go and Shogi, the Nara kid was tops. Least Mother's lesson was drilled into her sons' heads well, for even Sasuke saw Naruto's intentions to keep a secret, for the time being, that he was capable of performing the Kage Bushin. That was one ace that definitely would be useful in the future.

* * *

After school, in the Academy's courtyard, mothers, fathers, and other relatives gathered with their graduated children. Even those who did not succeed were greeted and encouraged to try again another time.

Off one side, Uchiha Mikoto, wearing her kunoichi uniform with her hair in a ponytail, smiled at her two sons, proud that they'd graduated. She was vaguely aware a few of the other parents had glanced at Naruto with distaste, but the Uchiha Matriarch did not care, as long as those bias people did not try to do harm to her adopted child. Least the Aburame, Nara, Inuzuka, Yamanaka, and Akimichi parents had offered sincere congratulations to both Sasuke and Naruto, while the Hyuuga representative, a female caretaker of Hinata's, was simply polite

Just as Mikoto gestured for her sons to follow her to a restaurant so the family could privately celebrate, Naruto noticed Mizuki-sensei approached a boy, who was one of the failed students and was not greeted by any family. The boy, whose name was Hikaru, was leaning against the courtyard wall, looking quite miserable. After a brief talk with the teacher, the kid perked up and nodded quite enthusiastically, and only then did Mizuki walked away, while the boy quickly ran out of the courtyard.

"You noticed it too, Naruto," Mikoto stated, making the blond looked up to become aware that his adopted mother was looking at the Academy's main gate where the boy ran off through. Naruto quickly realized that she and Sasuke must have seen what he saw when they realized he was not following them.

"Does this have to do with your distrust of Mizuki-sensei, Mother?" asked Sasuke, wondering what the teacher told the failed student to make the kid looked like he has hope. The other failed students weren't looking enthusiastic even after receiving words of encouragement that they have another chance next year.

The Head of the Uchiha Clan nodded a few times. "I do not trust that man. Ever since I met him and despite that Iruka-san vouched for him, I have this feeling that Mizuki just can't be trusted. He rubs me off the wrong way, especially when speaking about Naruto." Both boys nodded once in understanding.

Ever since she had adopted Naruto, Mikoto had developed a sixth sense regarding which people truly were all right with Naruto and those who did not like him due to being the Kyuubi container. Call it 'mother instincts', but it has not failed her yet when it came to judging others' exact intentions regarding her golden-haired child. It was why, with the exception of Iruka and the sex education teacher, she had not trusted any of the Academy instructors, including Mizuki.

Once more following her inner voice that was telling her something was wrong, Mikoto gestured to her sons to follow her. "Come on, boys. Our celebration party will just have to wait for another time." With that said, the Uchiha Head, her face showing determination, strolled out of the courtyard, and after looking at each other briefly with baffled expressions, Sasuke and Naruto quickly went after their mother.

For the few people in the courtyard who saw the expression on the Uchiha Clan Head's face, they wondered what was going on to make the proud matriarch looked like she was going off to fight a battle.

* * *

"And that's all you need to do to pass. Got it?" Mizuki grinned down at the 12-year-old, brown-haired boy, who appeared a bit wary.

"I don't know, Mizuki-sensei. Are you sure Hokage-sama approves of this test?" Hikaru asked the silver-haired chuunin.

"Trust me. Hokage-sama approved this test," he grinned reassuringly. "Do you want to pass?"

"Of course, I do!" Hikaru nearly shouted at the Academy teacher. "I just want to make sure this is okay! I'll pass this test!"

Mizuki laughed. "That's the spirit!" he said before tousling the kid's hair. "Now go to it!" With a simple "Hai!" the boy ran off to pursue his goal, and when he was out of sight, the silver-haired man smirked, knowing he would have what he wants within a few hours. He walked away from the park tree, out of the park, and toward his apartment, where he knew he would have to seal away his personal belongings in a travel scroll for the next phase in his plan. If the kid succeeded, he would be one step closer to gaining power.

In a nearby bush, not far from the tree, a brown cat emerged, yet what was strange about this cat that it has blue eyes, which was rarely seen on a feline. If anyone were watching it, one would next see the cat disappeared in a poof of smoke.

* * *

A few blocks away from the park, on top of a building, Naruto blinked a few times before turning to his adopted family. "The clone dispersed, and you're not going to like what I heard." As the sun was setting, the blond told his Kaa-chan and brother the conversation that Mizuki had with the failed student, and when he was finished, both Uchihas were frowning just as much as the their blond family member.

Mikoto was now very glad she had told Naruto the benefits of the Kage Bushin last night. With the chakra reserves he has, her son could easily form a Kage Bushin, which could use a Henge to follow and spy on the Academy student, and once the Bushin cancelled itself, the knowledge it gained would return to the original Naruto. Given what she was told, it was a good thing Mizuki had not ever suspected anyone to be spying on the failed graduate.

"This is not good, boys," Mikoto spoke regarding the situation with Mizuki.

Naruto raised a fist. "Yeah! We need to tell Hokage-jiji right away!"

"Agree," Sasuke stated in agreement. "We can reach the Hokage first before our ex-classmate does."

The Matriarch of the Uchiha Clan was in total concurrence with her children. "Let's go then!" she barked before leaping into the air and utilizing the shinobi way of traveling by running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop toward the Hokage Tower. A quick glance behind her showed her that her two sons were right on her heels, as the three of them headed toward the village's administration building.

* * *

Landing on a thick tree branch, Mizuki surveyed the scene taking place on the forest floor below. It appeared Iruka has found Hikaru and was currently talking to the boy to know why the kid has stolen the Forbidden Scroll. To be honest, the silver-haired Chuunin had not thought the boy had a chance, but it seemed the lad managed to get the scroll anyway.

Mizuki's lips curled into a devious smirk. _"Perfect. Once I get the scroll, I'm out of this stupid village."_ He had instructed Hikaru to come to this remote area of the forest outside the village, once the boy acquired the Forbidden Scroll. Here, far from the ANBU patrols, he could kill the boy and flee without any problems. Just too bad Iruka would have to die too.

Dropping to a lower branch, the soon-to-be traitorous shinobi made his presence known. "Well done, Hikaru," he said, alerting Iruka and the boy to where he was standing above them. "Now give me the scroll. No one will get hurt."

Iruka was no fool, for that smirk on his so-called friend's face was not good news to him. "Hikaru, do not give him the scroll! As I said, he fooled you, for there is no extra credit to pass the Graduation Exam!"

Hikaru did not blinked as he gave a determine expression up at Mizuki. "Sure," he said before tossing the large scroll at the smirking man, who caught the rolled parchment.

"What have you done?!" Iruka screamed out in indignation. He couldn't believe one of his students would give a traitor the Scroll of Seals like that!

Yet instead of looking sorry, Hikaru suddenly smirked up at the silver-haired man. "What are you going to do with the scroll, Mizuki-sensei? Surely, even with all the jutsu contained in that scroll, it will not be enough to stop Konoha from hunting you down and killing you."

Mizuki blinked in surprise at first, before his lips formed a smirk again. "Quite insightful of you. I'm going to give this scroll to someone as a gift, and in exchange, he's going to give me power as I join his army. Konoha is so weak, given its peaceful attitude to the world. This person definitely knows that power is the means that everyone will recognize."

Iruka sneered at his now ex-friend, for he would not ever want to be friends with such a turncoat. "And who is this person?"

The silver-haired shinobi did not wavered in his response. "Orochimaru."

The pony-tailed Academy instructor gasped in shock, while Hikaru merely raised an eyebrow, for the name did not register to him. Yet, the boy snorted the next moment, his smirk back in place. "That might be true, Mizuki-sensei, **if** you have the **real** scroll."

The young student's words made both Chuunin blinked in confusion, before they realized what he meant. Mizuki, in panic, opened the scroll to see in shock that it was totally **blank**.

"No, no, nooooo!" the Konoha deserter yelled as he kept unrolling the scroll to see it was blank all the way through. Out of anger, he threw the scroll away and pointed menacingly at the brown-haired boy. "You gave me a **fake**!"

With Iruka staring at him in awe, Hikaru crossed his arms in triumph. "Do you really think you will get away with getting the real scroll?" Suddenly, a 'pop' was heard as the lad was covered in smoke for an instant, and when it cleared, the person standing there made both men went wide-eyed.

"Sasuke?!" Iruka gasped at the young Uchiha, while Mizuki's mind was rolling at a fast pace, for if the Uchiha Heir was here, it meant that his plan has failed.

"Give up, Mizuki-san," Sasuke said seriously as he unsheathed a fuuma shuriken and snapped it open into its four-bladed windmill form.

"Ha!" the silver-haired ninja laughed down at the black-haired boy. "What are you going to do about it?" The answer was obvious, when Sasuke threw his fuuma shuriken at the chuunin, who simply stepped out of the way to allow the whirling weapon to pass him. "You miss!" he laughed.

Yet Sasuke smirked, knowing what was about to happen next.

The fuuma shuriken popped into smoke, and out of the cloud appeared a boy with golden-blond hair and whisker-marks on his cheeks. Both Iruka and Mizuki were shock as the newcomer quickly took out a pair of kunai, with attached explosive tags, and threw them at the village traitor. "Eat this!" the boy called out.

There was no time for Mizuki to do anything but to jump out of the way just before the kunai hit the tree branch. The explosion destroyed the branch just as the chuunin landed on the ground at the same time the newcomer landed on another tree's branch to bottle the traitor between him and Sasuke.

"Naruto!" Iruka yelled out upon recognizing the person. It was certainly surreal to see both boys of Mikoto-sama's in such a situation. What was going on here?!

"You miss, Dobe," Sasuke pointed out with a neutral voice, even though his lips were still smirking, like he was teasing his adopted brother.

"Oh, put sock in it, Teme!" cried out Naruto with a shaking fist at the other boy just before giving a wide, prideful grin. "Least the trap worked, for we caught Mizuki-baka off guard!"

"What did you call me?" Mizuki growled at the whiskered blond.

Sasuke snorted, narrowing his eyes at the now ex-Academy teacher. "You heard him. It's a fitting name… For a traitor."

Seeing that an angry Mizuki was unhooking his giant shuriken from his back, Iruka knew things were going to get really serious. "Boys, it's best that the two of you get out of here. Since the Scroll of Seals is obvious safe, you do not need to risk your lives. Leave Mizuki to me."

Mizuki scowled, but the next moment, he sneered a lopsided grin, alerting the other three that he was up to something. "Oh, really. It's not like these two brats will defeat me anyway, Iruka, especially Naruto." He trained a sly expression up at the golden-haired graduate in the tree. "Tell me, Naruto, did you ever wonder why people in the village hate you? You were never loved at all with the exception of a few people."

"Don't you **dare**, Mizuki!" shouted out Iruka, aware of what his ex-friend was aiming to do. "That's an S-class secret!"

Naruto and Sasuke, however, did not even bat an eye. "It's okay, Iruka-sensei," Mikoto's blood-related son reassured calmly. "Naruto is aware of the Kyuubi."

"Yeah," Naruto shrugged with a grin, flabbergasting both men in the process. "Kaa-chan told me a few years ago that I'm the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. I understand why some people hate me, but I'm not letting it get to me." His grin went wider as he made a cross sign. **"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"** A cloud of smoke suddenly manifested in the tree and the two nearby ones, and once the smoke cleared, least three dozens Narutos were seen, astonishing the two chuunins at the tremendous amount of chakra the kid must have in order to create so many solid clones, whom all spoke as one. "I'm not going to rest, until I'm Hokage one day!" they said with raised fists. "Datteboyo!"

Mizuki laughed bitterly. "Like Hell, brat! You?! Hokage?! Don't make me laugh!"

"We'll see about that!" the Narutos said together in determination before launching themselves at the turncoat shinobi, who threw one of his giant shuriken, dispelling a few of the clones in the process. Yet out of the corner of his eyes, Mizuki saw Sasuke did some hand seals before placing a funneled hand in front of his mouth.

"**Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu! (Fire Element: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique)!" **Sasuke shouted before firing off dozens of fireballs at his ex-teacher, who quickly dodged the flaming missiles before jumping into a tree. There he was met by a dozen of Naruto's Bushins.

"Take this!" one of the blond clones cried out before aiming a punch at the silver-haired man, who growled and easily stepped out of the way of the strike. Yet instead of a typical brawl, Mizuki found himself fending off a skillful taijutsu fight as the 12 clones kept him on his toes with him managing to destroy several clones but not without some difficulty.

Mizuki snarled a smirk as he began reducing the number of Kage Bushin down. The brat was good, he admitted, for he have seen both Sasuke and Naruto used the taijutsu stances no doubt taught to them by the Uchiha Matriarch, however, they were nowhere near his league. "Give up, Demon! You can't win!"

It was then Mizuki felt his instincts to look up just in time to see the Uchiha Heir was sailing through the air with intentions to kick him. There was no time to dodge when the foot connected with his stomach, making him fly through the air and hitting the ground. Getting up on his two feet, the silver-haired shinobi growled in annoyance for his stupidity, for when he was focus on the blond clones, he did not pay attention to Sasuke, allowing the boy an opening to strike him.

"Enough!" Mizuki shouted out in anger as Sasuke landed a good distance from him with Naruto and the remains of his small army landing around his adopted brother. "You two do not have what it takes to defeat me! I will not be humiliated by two just-graduated students!" With that said, the man held his right hand with his left in a fist.

Having seen Mizuki used that specific hand sign before; Iruka knew what jutsu his ex-friend was about to release. "Naruto! Sasuke! Get out of here!"

"Too late!" the traitorous ninja called out before releasing his jutsu. **"Doton: Ganban Kyu (Earth Element: Bedrock Coffin)!" **

Two giant slabs of bedrock sprouted up from the ground in front and behind Sasuke and Naruto, and once they did, the Uchiha Heir jumped into the air onto a tree branch, but unfortunately, the golden-haired boy and his small army was caught as the stone slabs quickly slammed together.

"Naruto!" Iruka shouted, thinking his favorite student was crushed to a pulp..

"I'm okay, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto's voice came from the trees above. Iruka, Mizuki, and Sasuke looked up to see the blond boy waving, thus making the pineapple-haired chuunin released a breath in relief. Either Naruto used a Kawarimi with one of his clones or he was not originally part of that Kage Bushin group at all.

Mizuki, however, was really seeing red now. "Curse you, Demon!" he shouted like a mad man, and before anyone knew it, he disappeared, only to reappear a few seconds later right next to Naruto on the tree branch. The boy didn't even had time to react prior to feeling a fist slamming into his face, sending him flying through the air and smashing into the ground below.

"Damn you, Mizuki!" Iruka yelled. "You leave him alone!" He was about to move to help his favorite pupil when several kunai with explosive tags hit the ground in front of him, causing the Academy instructor to leap out of the way just before the tags went off. Iruka cursed his ex-friend, for those explosives have kept him away from Naruto.

Landing in the small clearing where Naruto crashed, Mizuki walked toward his prey with his second giant shuriken in hand. His eyes watched the boy stood up, looking feral at him. "I'm going to kill you! That old man of a Hokage has kept you alive for too long! I lost my family due to the Kyuubi, and now, I'm going to make certain it dies once in for all!"

Iruka knew he was too far to do anything to stop Mizuki, who was practically over Naruto by now. Yet looking up at the blond's adopted brother, who was closer to provide help, the 20-something man wondered why Sasuke was not doing anything. Was that a smirk on the young Uchiha's face?

"Any last words, Demon?" asked Mizuki.

Naruto's lips formed a sly smirk. "Yeah," he answered before forming a cross seal. A Kage Bushin suddenly appeared besides him before dispersing in smoke, and the next thing that happened was the ground starting to shake a bit. Two pairs of hands came out of the ground to grab Mizuki around his ankles, while ten more Kage Bushin Narutos burst from the earth to latch their arms around the shock chuunin, holding down his arms and preventing him from moving his body.

"Now, Sasuke!" barked the real Naruto, who hopped back and away from the detained traitor.

After quickly jumping down to the forest floor, Sasuke swiftly pulled out two small boomerangs with shinobi wire attached to them and flung the projectiles at Mizuki. Once the boomerangs went pass the man, the Uchiha boy pulled on the wires, causing the flying objects to return and began wrapping the wires around Mizuki and the Naruto Bushins, and when that was done, Sasuke pulled the wires extremely hard to make the Bushins dispel in order for the wires to clamp tight around the only person remaining… Mizuki. Unable to maintain his balance with his legs pinned together, the silver-haired ninja fell, front first, to the ground.

"Alright! We captured him!" Naruto cheered with a pumped fist, seeing his now ex-teacher was wrapped tight in wire from shoulder to ankles. Sasuke smirked, for he too felt a sense of pride in beating a ninja, who was suppose to be more powerful than him and Naruto, if rank was anything to go by.

Iruka was in awe at what he just witness. Two of his recent-graduated students had beaten a chuunin-ranked shinobi with little trouble. Granted that the boys have been training under their mother for nearly 4 years, but still, for two raw rookies to defeat Mizuki, it was amazing.

Mizuki growled and howled as he flexed his muscles, trying to break the sturdy wire. "When I get out of this, I'm going to make you two brats pay!"

"The only paying you will be doing, Mizuki, is spending time in prison," replied an elderly voice laced with authority. Four pairs of male eyes looked toward the source to see the Third Hokage, in his dress robes and hat, strolled out from behind a tree with Uchiha Mikoto right behind him, and soon after that, the small clearing was surrounded by a dozen ANBU.

As two ANBU took the giant shuriken out of Mizuki's hand and make certain the traitor was not going anywhere, the Sandaime strolled passed a stun Iruka, who followed his leader and the Uchiha Matriarch toward the ex-Konoha nin. "Hokage-sama, were you, Mikoto-sama, and the ANBU here all along?"

Mikoto shook her head, as she replied to Iruka's question. "We were some distance away, but once the Naruto Kage Bushin, which was with us, told us the battle has begun, we closed the distance to surround the clearing. Unless the trap backfired, we would not interfere."

Mizuki blinked, not believing what he just heard, as the Third approached him. "A trap? This was all a trap?"

"It was," Konoha's kage verified prior to stopping to look down at his now ex-subordinate. "Mikoto, Sasuke and Naruto managed to get to me first before Hikaru. They told me what you were planning, and once Hikaru was sent home, assuring him that he would not be punish for you misleading him, Sasuke and Naruto came up with a plan for this trap. It involved around Naruto's ability to create Kage Bushin unlike anyone could without exhausting their chakra."

Mikoto took over the dialogue. "It was simple. With a fake scroll, the boys would come here at the designated meeting place to plant the trap, while Hokage-sama would send out an alert that the Scroll of Seals was stolen by Hikaru, making you and everyone believe the boy took the scroll. Sasuke would henge himself to be Hikaru, while Naruto would henge into a fuuma shuriken, but not before Naruto would place a dozen Kage Bushin underground at a specific spot in the clearing."

Understanding dawned to Iruka, who interrupted the clan matriarch. "Once Mizuki was over the spot, Naruto would create a Kage Bushin to dispel immediately to send the orders to the underground clones to spring the trap!"

"Precisely," Mikoto grinned at the Academy instructor. "Once dispelled, the Kage Bushin's knowledge will not just go back to the original person but also to all clones that are currently still active. Naruto could easily give out orders to his clones without needing to utter a word."

Sasuke picked up the conversation. "Once Naruto's Kage Bushin contained Mizuki, I used my wires to capture the traitor for good."

With hands behind his head, a grinning Naruto walked over to stand besides his adopted brother. "Yep! We certainly showed Mizuki-teme not to betray Konoha!" Sasuke snorted a laugh as his lips curled lopsidedly.

Mizuki growled. He still could not believe he was beaten by 12-year-olds. Twelve year olds! It was humiliating. He had underestimated the brats and paid the price.

Turning a proud, grinning face from the two boys to an angry and disappointed one aimed at Mizuki, Sarutobi pointed to the captured shinobi. "Take him to Ibiki," he ordered the ANBU. "Get any information out of him on what he knows."

"He's working for Orochimaru, Hokage-sama," Iruka immediately reported, and the affects were immediate, for the aged leader closed his eyes and shook his head, while Mikoto and several ANBU gasped.

Naruto blinked in confusion. "Who's Orochimaru?" Even Sasuke was bewildered to why the name caused such a reaction.

Mikoto gave a wary grin at her two sons. "I'll explain when we get back home, boys." The pair nodded in understanding, given her voice told them she promised to tell them once they return to their place of residency.

Half of the ANBU took Mizuki away with additional orders from the Third to tell all the shinobi back in the village to stand down, for the situation regarding the Scroll of Seals was now resolved. Once they were gone, the Sandaime faced the two newest additions to Konoha's shinobi force with a prideful expression.

"Sasuke, Naruto," the elderly leader began, "you boys had done a good job. You volunteered to execute the trap to capture Mizuki, even though such a mission is not normally given to just-graduated genins. Since this trap would be considered least a B-rank mission given the dangers of Mizuki's skill level as a chuunin, I'm awarding you each B-rank pay for successfully completing this mission that I had authorized. It will be going into your records as your first official mission."

Naruto was shocked with a hanging mouth, while Sasuke gave a lopsided grin. After a moment, the blond shook his head, amusing the adults around him. "Whoa! Jiji, are you saying you're giving us B-rank pay?!" When the Third nodded his head in confirmation, the whiskered boy jumped into the air with a raised fist. "Alright! Our first true successful mission, Sasuke! This is just awesome!"

Sasuke just simply nodded in agreement. It was true that the trap was a team effort between him and his adopted brother, but for the young Uchiha, he felt it was him alone that achieved the entire mission. He just couldn't help but feel proud that he was now one step closer to one day beat his big brother, who he sworn he would defeat.

After taking the steps to stand behind her two sons, Mikoto placed a hand on each boy's shoulder, making them look up at her thus allowing her to take in their proud expressions. As a mother, she had been somewhat worry for their lives, for such a mission would have gotten them killed, if they had been too careless with Mizuki. On the other hand, as a kunoichi and their teacher, the raven-haired woman couldn't help but feel proud of them. They done a great service for the village in stopping a traitor, showing their ninja abilities that displayed the hard training and education she had given them in the past 4 years. What more could she be proud of?

"Sasuke, Naruto, I'm proud of you," the Uchiha Matriarch proclaimed with a smile. "You've taken your first steps as shinobi of the Leaf. It's too late now to celebrate when we get back home, but tomorrow, we can finally go out to have that celebration dinner."

"Thanks, Kaa-chan!" beamed Naruto, his heart swelling with warmth over the compliments from the Third and his adopted mother. It made him feel great to be alive.

Chuckling, Konoha's leader held up a hand to gain the small family's attention. "You boys do not need to write up a report tonight, for you can go home now given it is late. I'll expect a combined report by tomorrow evening though prior to your team orientations the day after tomorrow."

"Say what?!" nearly shouted Naruto in disappointment. "Write a report?! I have to write a report?!"

Mikoto grinningly sighed as she shook her head. "Naruto, when you become a leader, you will eventually have to learn how to file a report on any missions you are responsible for. The paper work helps keep a record that is essential in keeping track of missions, personnel, and other things. If you're going to be Hokage one day, you will have to deal with how to handle the paper work."

It was not what Naruto like to hear. "Aw, man! I'm no good in making reports! You practically have to help me every time I have to write up a report for class, Kaa-chan!"

Giggling a bit, the raven-haired mother pushed her golden-haired child forward. "I'll show you tomorrow morning. Writing a mission report is **not** the same as writing up a school term paper, young man. Now let's go home."

Still grumbling over the notion that he would have to write up a mission report, the blond Jinchuuriki leaped skyward to begin tree hopping toward the village. An amused Mikoto swiftly followed with Sasuke, smirking over Naruto not liking to write up a report, being last in line, as the family of three made their way back home.

Watching the family until they were out of sight, Iruka chuckled as he stood besides the Sandaime. "I don't think Naruto and Sasuke are going to appreciate finding out that they need to pass the **real** genin exam after they are assigned to their teams."

Sarutobi snorted a laugh. "True, but knowing Mikoto's boys, I will not be surprise if they do pass." The elderly shinobi's eyes twinkled as he and Iruka chuckled some more.

"Come, Iruka," the Third gestured to him. "Let's get back to the tower. By now, all the jounins assigned to be jounin-senseis should be there by now. We need to discuss the formation of the new genin teams." With that said, the Hokage and his subordinates leaped into the trees for the short journey back to Konoha.

* * *

**Thus ended what many had called 'The Mizuki Incident'. Uchiha Mikoto's sons had shown their worth in capturing the traitor in the eyes of the Sandaime Hokage, and due to this evaluation, the two boys would be thrust together forward into a new life that awaits them.**

**The Mizuki Incident may have seemed like just a minor note in the lives of Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, but for two young shinobi, whom would eventually make history and change the world, this was just the beginning.**

* * *

TBC (End of Chapter 5)

A/Ns:

1) Given Rock Lee was given a free graduation pass by Gai, I thought the entire Academy graduation process was flawed, thus the conversation I came up at the beginning of this chapter. If a student as Lee was given a chance to show potential, I thought it was not fair for Naruto not to pass just because he could not do a Bushin. It makes me wonder how many potential shinobi was cut out of the Konoha forces just because of minor technicalities.

IMO, a student should least be given a year to show potential before making a decision whether the student should be dropped out of the ninja corps. It might be waste of time and money in the long haul, but it would be beneficial in sorting out the coals and finding those rare gems.

2) I do not want to even bother with the whole 'Naruto failed the graduation exam three times' scenario. Kishimoto had not ever explained how Naruto was given the exam two times before, when he was obvious in the same class as Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, Sasuke, and the rest for the entire duration of the Academy. Kishi is known for just popping things out to fit a plot regardless of contradicting canon that was written beforehand.

So with this in mind, I just ignore the whole thing and just let Naruto and his classmates have that one exam to worry about. Makes things simple than the complexities of figuring out when Naruto was given the graduation exam beforehand, especially given he was suppose to be the 'dead last' so how could he be given the exam before his classmates if he was the dead last in his class? Makes no sense to me.

3) I do not want to hear anyone mentioning the Naruto & Hinata interactions. I did stated before that there would be no romance during the first half of this story. I'm simply following canon that Hinata has a crush over Naruto. Who Naruto will be with? Well, that's not going to come out until after the time-skip. So there! ;-p

4) Yeah, yeah. I know the solution to Naruto's problem of forming a Bushin could be seen a kilometer away due to what we know in canon, and obvious, the same with the whole Mizuki event. Just I twist both plots a bit from canon that they did not come out being **exactly** like canon. ;)

4a) Speaking of the Mizuki plot, I had originally planned to have Mizuki approached Naruto anyway, despite that Naruto has passed the graduation exam. Yet, I ditched that idea, given I think Mizuki is not that stupid to try to trick a student who passed the test. It would have made the whole thing just too simple and obvious if the traitor tried to trick Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals, as it was in canon. Besides, with Mikoto tutoring her adopted son, I really can't see Naruto fall for such a ploy.

5) For anyone's information, with the exception of Sasuke and Naruto, the entire graduation class is wearing the same clothes as seen in canon. Given Mikoto's influence, I thought the two boys would have totally different outfits than what we've seen in canon, for after all, I really can't see Mikoto would approve of Naruto wearing that orange jumpsuit. ;p

6) For anyone's information, a Fuuma Shuriken is another name for the Windmill Shuriken, which was first seen in the Wave Country arc when Sasuke threw the weapons (one of them being a Henge Naruto) at Zabuza. It just looks so cool, eh? ;)

7) Oh, I'm not in anyway creating a Superpower Naruto and/or Sasuke in this fic. The boys may have four years of training under Mikoto, but it does not mean they can easily say defeat Kakashi if the jounin goes full out. I'm aiming to be realistic with the level of power the boys are compared to the older shinobi of the village. Yet rest assures that Naruto and Sasuke are better than their peers though. :)

8) Last, I hope everyone enjoyed this **very** long chapter of "Matriarch" to make up for it being six months since Chapter 4 was posted. As I said, I took the time to focus on a mini-arc for "Unexpected Love" before returning to write for "Matriarch".

So no matter which holiday you're celebrating, I wish everyone Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! My next fic posting will be in 2010, so I'll see you all then! (big grin)

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Next Chapter: Orientation of Sensei and Students


	7. Ch 6: Orientation of Sensei and Students

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :) No copying of my story is allowed. That's stealing if anyone copies my story into his/her own story. Write your own story without taking others' works! (angry glare)

Note: This is a very long chapter. So settle down and enjoy! (big grin)

Note II: Please understand that this chapter is unbetaed, thus there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.

**If sentences are all bold like this, this means it's being told in 1****st**** person in a book.**

Story rating: M (R)(for adult themes, sexual and blood)  
Written: April 2009 - Present

Summary: By surviving the Uchiha Massacre, one woman changed the path of destiny.

oooooooooooooooo

The Matriarch of Destiny  
Chapter 6 – Orientation of Sensei and Students  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

**Regardless of the village, when it comes to starting off graduated genin on their career profession, nothing is more important to these young people than their jounin-sensei. The jounin-sensei will not only teach the genin new skills & knowledge and set the young warriors down the path of what type of shinobi the individual will be, but also the jounin-sensei will become guardian and counselor to the growing genin. The bond between sensei and genin students is vital at this stage, for if the students do not gain trust of their jounin-sensei, it will cause discord within the team that could lead to the students not be taught properly, not to mention a good chance of ending up dead in a dangerous situation. **

**Yet, in Konoha, the Academy graduates have one last test to pass before being consider true genin, and this test is administer by the suppose jounin-sensei. If the team of three genin passes, the jounin-sensei and the genin will become an official shinobi team of four in the Konoha Shinobi Force. If the genin fail however, the three will be revaluated to determine whether any of them still have potential to be considered being members of the Konoha Shinobi Force. Most eventually will be placed in the reserves and be allowed to attend regular school to gain skills, which will give them opportunities to help the shinobi force and the village – accountants, secretaries, engineers, blacksmiths, etc. All vital and important for any village to survive and prosper.**

**For Naruto and Sasuke, the meeting with their jounin-sensei would mark the first time that someone else would be training them other than Mikoto. They knew they have to trust their jounin-sensei, if they were to advance, but for the two boys, it would be, at first, quite a test to place such trust to another person, when they had unquestionably trusted their mother to guide and train them during the four years prior to graduating from the Academy.**

oooooooooooooooo

Walking into his office, the Sandaime saw every jounin, who was assigned to become a jounin-sensei, was there. Even a certain Copy Nin was there, lazily leaning on the sidewall reading his Icha Icha. Knowing his strongest warrior, the wrinkled man thought for sure the son of the White Fang would be late. Yet again, Hatake Kakashi could be punctual… when it suited him at times.

Keeping his opinion regarding Kakashi to himself, the elderly leader of Konoha went to sit in his desk chair with Iruka following to stand by his side. Only then did he address his subordinates. "If you was not aware of it, the situation regarding the Scroll of Seals has been resolved. Thanks to the bravery of two of our recent graduates, Mizuki is now in custody for betraying our village."

"Mizuki, Sir?" asked Genma, a shinobi with a senbon in his mouth.

After nodding his head once in affirmative, the Third Hokage told the whole story about Mizuki's plan to get the Scroll of Seals and how it was thwarted, thanks to the two sons of Uchiha Mikoto. By the time he was finished, there were many astonished expressions throughout the room.

Raising an eyebrow, Kakashi was mildly impressed. "Well, we have to remember that Mikoto-sama has been training Naruto and Sasuke throughout their years at the Academy. It shouldn't really be much of a surprise that the two have gained skills beyond a mere graduate is capable."

"True," agreed a man standing besides the Copy Nin. He took a drag out of his cigarette and blew the smoke away before speaking again. "Yet it still somewhat out of the norm these days to have two graduates have chuunin level skills."

"You're right about that, Asuma," the Third concurred with his youngest son. He picked up his pipe, prepared the tobacco, lit it, and took a puff out of it. "Now, we're here to discuss the placements of this year's graduates into genin teams."

Standing on Asuma's other side, Kurenai, a dark-haired beauty of a kunoichi, raised her hand prior to speaking to her leader. "Are you going to continue the tradition of placing the top rookie with the top kunoichi and the dead last of the class?"

The intelligent old Hokage shook his head. "No, that can not be possible this year." Seeing everyone was confused, with the exception of Iruka, Hiruzen explained. "Simply put, the top rookie is no other than Uchiha Sasuke, and after witnessing their performance against Mizuki, it will not be wise to split Sasuke and Naruto apart."

Iruka spoke up next. "Naruto's scores put him in the middle, thus he's not the dead last. Being a witness to their fight against Mizuki, it will do Mikoto-sama a grave injustice to have her sons be split apart. Their teamwork is just amazing."

Kurenai guessed what was the most logical outcome. "So, I presume that you'll just assign the top kunoichi to complete their team?"

The Sandaime nodded once with an agreeable grin on his face. "Precisely," he said before his eyes scanned every jounin in the room. "The question now is who will be their jounin-sensei?"

Over the course of nearly 10 minutes, the Hokage heard almost every jounin made an argument over why he should be Sasuke and Naruto's jounin-sensei. The only one not making a case was the rookie-jounin, Kurenai, the only kunoichi in the room. Yet after hearing his top soldiers quarreled almost like kids, Hiruzen felt it was enough, or else he would end up with a splitting headache. Least Konoha's Genjutsu Mistress was wise not to bother, given even she could see she was not suited to teach a combat ninjutsu team that Naruto and Sasuke was definitely turned out to be.

After raising a withered hand to silent his jounin, the elderly Sarutobi took another smoke out of his pipe, the nicotine helping to calm his nerves. "As much as I understand many of you wouldn't mind training Sasuke and Naruto, only **one** will become their jounin-sensei."

When the Sandaime announced who would take the position, some moaned in disappointment, yet none of them could dispute that the jounin was the best person for the job according to their leader's reasoning. The question many of them were asking, including the Third himself, was whether the Uchiha Matriarch would approve.

oooooooooooooooooo

Sliding open the front door of his home and then sliding it shut behind him, Naruto sighed in relief as he walked down the hallway. It has been a crazy day, all thanks to Hokage-jiji's grandson. Yet, the blond could sympathize with the younger boy, when it came to wanting people to actually acknowledge him and not a title. He wondered if Konohamaru would even have real friends than kids, who would likely be friends just because he was the grandchild of the Third Hokage.

Entering the kitchen, Mikoto's adopted son was greeted by his so-called 'brother'. "Where have you been, Dobe? " he asked from his seating position at the low table.

Naruto tiredly chuckled. "Long story, Sasuke." Blue eyes scanned the room and noticed someone was missing. "Where's Kaa-chan?"

"Preparing herself," replied Sasuke, his hand holding a cup of tea. "Surely you have not forgotten that we're eating out for dinner tonight due that we weren't able to do so last night?"

Chuckling again, this time out of slight embarrassment, the whisker-faced boy strolled over to the refrigerator. "It slipped my mind, honestly." He took out a bottle of fruit juice and took several gulps of the refreshing liquid before sighing in contentment. "That sure hits the spot."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at what he heard. "You sound like you're exhausted, which I find hard to believe given your stamina."

After putting away the juice bottle back in the refrigerator, Naruto took the few steps back to the low table. "I feel okay, just relief to get away from Konohamaru," he softly laughed. "He certainly was clinging to me like glue."

Once more, black eyebrows went upward. Sasuke wondered what did the Hokage's grandson have anything to do with Naruto. Yet before he could voice his question, the kitchen door opened to reveal his mother, looking beautiful in a dark-blue, long-sleeved dress and black slipper shoes with her raven hair held back by a dark-blue hair band across the top of her head.

Mikoto grinned upon seeing her golden-haired son. "There you are," she said, obviously relieved upon seeing him, only for her grin to turn into a slightly stern frown. "Where were you? Sasuke was home hours ago, after he completed his genin registration at the Hokage Tower."

Giving another small chuckle, Naruto scratched the back of his head. "As I told Sasuke, it's a long story." With that said, he proceeded to tell his tale of meeting Konohamaru during the registration meeting with Hokage-jiji and how he managed to gain the young boy's interest after bopping the brat on the head. Of course, he also had happened to meet Konohamaru's so-called teacher, Ebisu, who he'd saw as a jerk. After hours of being followed by the Sandaime's grandson and finally giving in to give a few tips on how to be a ninja, Naruto had gained the younger boy's rivalry for the title of Hokage, especially after defeating Ebisu when the jounin was being a pain in not leaving Konohamaru alone.

"You defeated him? How?" asked Sasuke. It was one thing for Naruto and him to work together to beat Mizuki, a chuunin, it was another for Naruto alone to beat a jounin.

Naruto snickered a bit evilly. "Well, I knew he would underestimate me, thinking I was not skilled enough to take him on, so I immediately took advantage of that. I did a Shunshin to get directly behind him and gave him a huge wedgie."

Both Uchihas blinked at what they heard. "How hard did you pull?" Mikoto asked with a raised eyebrow.

Another snicker escaped Naruto's mouth. "Hard enough to make him get on his knees and clutch his groin."

As Sasuke closed his eyes, groaned, and shook his head, Mikoto gave a "Are you crazy?!" look at her blond son. "I'm guessing you're only lucky Ebisu-san was not expecting you to know the Shunshin, Naruto," the Uchiha Clan Head mentioned the only explanation to how Naruto could have won so easily over a jounin.

"Yeah, you're only lucky, Dobe." Sasuke opened his eyes before giving a small smirk. "Next time, he'll likely be the one hanging you out to dry."

"Fat chance!" immediately defended Naruto with a huge smile. He thumbed his chest. "Next time, I'll be stronger than today! I'll be so strong that I'll be the one hanging Glasses Man up by his pants on a flag pole!"

With a hand over her mouth, Mikoto laughed, for the image was just too silly in her mind. She had met Ebisu a few times, and as far as she was concerned, the man has a huge self-image that he was so good a shinobi that no one could beat him. It was why she felt for the Hokage's grandson. To be stuck with such an egoistic man for a teacher was borderline abuse in her opinion. How could such a man be a teacher with such an attitude?

Her laughter dying off, the beautiful Uchiha Matriarch came forward to get behind her adopted child, and with a hand on his back, she pushed him toward the kitchen's exit. "Now that you're here, we can go to dinner and have that delayed celebration."

"Alright!" shouted Naruto with a raised fist. "Ichiraku's Ramen, here we come!"

"We're not going there," Sasuke groaned as he stood up and followed his mother. "It's not technically a restaurant."

"What do you mean it's not a restaurant?!" cried out a peeved Naruto. "Of course, it is!"

Mikoto sighed, giving a gentle grin at her adopted son as they walked down the hallway toward the front door. "What Sasuke meant, Naruto, is that it's just a stand, not a true indoor restaurant where you can sit down at a table. Compare to a real restaurant, Ichiraku's does not have much of a variety of food to serve. We're going to a restaurant that serves far more than just ramen."

The blue-eyed boy sighed and crossed his arms. "Fine. As long as they serve ramen, I'm okay with it. Although I know it will not ever taste better than Ichiraku's."

Sasuke snorted a laugh. "You're still a Ramen Noodle Brain, even after all these years."

"Oh, stuff it, Teme!" Naruto quickly replied. So what he loved ramen? He had eaten other foods Kaa-chan insisted he consume. It just he still loved ramen more than anything else in the world. What was wrong with that?!

As the two boys strolled through the front door, Mikoto wore an amused grin prior to shutting the door closed. She would be ordering a few other food items for her hyperactive child other than ramen. She was glad that Naruto had broadened his list of favorite foods since she had adopted him, but ramen remained his top choice regardless. It was amusing to hear her 'son' defended his favorite dish with so much passion, she wondered if he would pass a law to forbid anyone from speaking ill toward ramen when he would become Hokage.

With that silly image in her head, the Matriarch of the Uchiha Clan followed her children out of their home's compound and guided them toward the restaurant and the private celebration dinner that awaits them.

oooooooooooooooooo

Gathered together for what they knew would be their last time as a class, the Academy graduates were in their classroom at the Academy, awaiting the moment they would be assigned into teams as well as their meeting of their prospective jounin-sensei. The room was filled with excited chatter, mostly on talk to what he or she thought which graduates would be together as a team.

As usual, Sasuke sat at his seat next to the windows, while Naruto sat with his friends in the center row of bench desks. Since the Hokage had not say anything about keeping the incident with Mizuki a secret, the blond, whiskered boy was delighted to tell the others regarding the whole event, which had happened two nights ago. Some had found it hard to believe, but since Sasuke had confirmed it, it became apparent just how far Sasuke and Naruto had come in skills and power. It led some to wonder whether the two would stay together as a team.

Kiba snorted a laugh. "I still can't believe you two actually beat Mizuki-sen… Mizuki," he corrected, thinking the man did not deserve to have the title anymore after what he had done.

Sitting next to the dog boy, Naruto placed his hands behind his head as he leaned back a bit, his smile big and wide. "Whether you believe it or not, Kiba, it's the truth. It was great to see the baka all tied up and dragged away by the ANBU. Getting B-rank pay was awesome!"

The only son of the Inuzuka Clan Head growled a bit out of jealousy. "B-rank pay," he muttered before placing his chin on top of his arm, which lay across the desk. "It'll be great if **my** first mission is a B-rank."

Sitting on the bench desk two rows behind Kiba, Shino fingered his shades up his nose as he spoke. "I am very doubtful that will happen. The circumstances to Sasuke and Naruto's first official mission were sudden and will not likely repeat for any genin under normal conditions. It is highly likely your first official mission will be of a lower rank, Kiba."

"Thanks a lot, Shino," the Inuzuka boy growled sarcastically. He took the chuckles from the others in stride.

Just then everyone felt a low rumble that grew a bit in intensity, and from the slight shaking, it was easy to deduce the cause was approaching the classroom from the hallway at the upper level. Yet no one was surprise or concern, for they all had experienced this many times during the past 4 years.

Groaning, Naruto crossed his arms and sighed. "Here they come."

Sitting directly behind Naruto, Shikamaru lazily placed his head on his arms and closed his eyes. "How troublesome. Even after four years, they still act like this."

"Hai," Hinata frowned from her position at the end of Naruto's bench desk. "I really do not see how they could have graduated with such attitudes."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Naruto saw Sasuke grimaced. It was so slight that most would not have spotted it, but having lived with the guy for four years, the blond knew his brother well enough to spot the tiniest of facial quirks to know Kaa-chan's blood son was in complete agreement with Hinata.

A sudden commotion at the upper entrance made everyone, except Sasuke, trained their eyes to the door, and surely enough as predicted, there was Sakura and Ino glaring at each other as they tried to squeeze through the door, each determined to get through first, causing both to end up stuck within the door frame. After one final push, both entered the room, tumbling to the floor.

Placing a hand over his mouth to prevent him to being heard, Naruto snickered, and hearing the muffled laughs around him, he knew others too thought it was funny. Not that he ever saw the entire 'rivalry' for Sasuke's affections was humorous, for it was mostly pathetic since Sasuke had clearly shown no interest in any girl. However, no one ever disputed the occasional verbal fights between Ino and Sakura were entertaining, for the girls acted silly most of the times.

After picking themselves off the floor, the pink-haired and blonde girls saw the two seats besides Sasuke were free. They squealed a bit, causing Kiba and Akamaru to winced, and before anyone knew it, Sakura and Ino were standing right next to Sasuke's bench desk.

"Can I sit next to you, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked with starry eyes.

"He doesn't want you, Forehead," Ino scoffed prior to eying the Uchiha with her own starry eyes. "I know he wants me to sit next to him."

"You wish, Ino-pig," the pinkette crossed her arms, glaring at her rival.

Ino glared back. "He wants me!"

"No, he wants me!"

"No! He wants ME!"

"How troublesome," Shikamaru whispered, yet everyone in the room, if they had heard him, would definitely concur. This latest Ino-Sakura fight was escalating into a shouting match that could damage everyone's eardrums.

Having enough, Naruto stood up and faced the two girls, who were one step above him. "Ino? Sakura-chan?"

"WHAT?!" both girls angrily roared as they turned their heads at the same time at the blond boy.

"Why not flip for it?" he suggested.

Everyone was confused to what the whiskered boy meant, yet Sasuke knew precisely what his brother was referring, and to validate his guess, Naruto reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a coin, which represented one ryou. It was now clear to all what the blond had in mind.

"Kaa-chan always flipped a coin to determine which of us would win when Sasuke and I get in an argument over things," Naruto explained with a huge grin.

Sasuke snorted a laugh, for Naruto had exaggerated the truth a bit. It was simply over who should get the last piece of shrimp or other pieces of food.

Naruto continued. "Heads, Sakura wins."

"Ha!" Ino boasted with her arms crossed. "Suits you, **Forehead**." The pink-haired girl clenched a fist.

"Tails, Ino wins," Mikoto's adopted child explained, pretending he has not heard Ino's rude quip.

Sakura smirked evilly. "With your **curly tail**, it suits you, Piggy." Ino narrowed her eyes.

"Here we go!" Naruto proclaimed before tossing the coin into the air above him. Everyone watched as the coin went up and then down into his hands, and with quickness, the boy slammed the coin on the desk behind him, right next to Shikamaru's head.

The Nara eyed the coin and languidly announced the results. "It's Heads."

Sakura squealed in joy with raised fists, and this time everyone winced, while Kiba and Akamaru covered their ears. "Kami! Enough of the squealing!" the Inuzuka grated. His white-furred partner howled in total agreement.

The pinkette's cry of joy died off, before she swiftly settled into the seat next to the reluctant Uchiha Heir. Ino took the end seat, but not before sending a glare at Naruto, who simply shrugged with a grin. Sasuke's brother reclaimed his coin as the Yamanaka girl sat down.

A couple of minutes later, the bottom entrance door slid open, allowing Iruka to enter with a clipboard in hand. The Academy teacher gave every graduate in the room a proud grin.

"Once more," he began, "congratulations to all of you. You had graduated, and when each of you had registered yesterday and took the oath of duty in front of the Hokage, you've became official members of the Konoha Shinobi Force. You all made me proud." His eyes scanned the room and saw they all had proud expressions, with the exception of Sasuke and Shino, whose faces were neutral.

"Now then," Iruka carried on, "I have here are your team placements. After I announced the teams, you're free for one hour for lunch, which I recommend to get to know your teammates better. After lunch, be back here where you'll meet your jounin-sensei. Okay?" When he saw no one spoke, he began announcing the teams.

Minutes later… "Team 7 will be Uchiha Sasuke…" Everyone was now paying attention. "Uzumaki Naruto…" Not much of a big surprise, given it was surmised the two would be together after the entire Mizuki Incident. Just who would be their kunoichi teammate, if they were going to continue tradition of one kunoichi to every two shinobi? "And Haruno Sakura!"

Sakura stood upright and squealed loudly, making everyone winced. Kiba and Akamaru once more covered their ears. "Will someone kill her please?!" the dog boy yelled. Not that he actually wanted her dead, just wanted the damn squealing to stop!

Ino spoke out when her rival eased her squealing. "Iruka-sensei, why Forehead?! If you're breaking tradition to not assign the Dead Last with the Top Rookie, why assign the Top Kunoichi to their team?!"

Iruka gave a small grin. "Sorry, Ino. The Hokage broke the tradition due to Sasuke and Naruto's performance in apprehending Mizuki two nights ago. I'm sure by now the entire village knows about the story. Hokage-sama saw it would not be productive to separate Sasuke and Naruto due to how well they'd worked together. Yet he'd decided to keep the tradition of adding the Top Kunoichi to round off the team."

"Ha!" Sakura pointed triumphantly at her rival. "Take that, Ino-pig!" With that said, Team 7's kunoichi sat down.

Shikamaru raised his head to place on his hand, which was supported by the elbow on the desk. "I'm not surprise. I'm also not going to be surprise in knowing who are going to be your teammates, Ino."

The platinum blonde grimaced. "I pray it's not what I think it is!"

Speaking out, Iruka continued announcing the team placements. "Team 8 will be… Hyuuga Hinata… Aburame Shino… And Inuzuka Kiba!"

Kiba blinked before grinning at Hinata next to him. "Looks like we're on the same team, Hinata," he said before looking over his shoulders at Shino. "Just why you, Shino?"

Shino answered logically as usual. "Simple. Our skills meant that we are most likely to be a tracking team."

"Fine with me," Kiba shrugged before turning back around to face front.

Hinata meantime sighed in disappointment. She really wished she had been placed with Naruto's team. It was too bad her scores couldn't beat the book-smarts of the Haruno girl.

"Team 9 is continuing in circulation from last year," proclaimed Iruka. "Now then, Team 10 will be… Yamanaka Ino…" Ino became alert. "Akimichi Chouji…" Ino's jaw went wide open, for there was no doubt what the next name would be. "And Nara Shikamaru!"

"Noooooo!" cried out the Yamanaka girl before slamming her head onto the desk. "Why did my Dad agreed to that silly notion to have his child at the same time as his teammates?! Why?!"

While Chouji was snickering, Shikamaru smirked. "You already know the answer, Ino," the Nara said. "I'd told you we're the next Ino-Shika-Cho team. Why else our fathers had planned to have their first children born in the **same year**?"

Ino did not say anything as she continued to stew. She was hoping that the Hokage would ignore the request from the first Ino-Shika-Chou team, their fathers, and placed her with someone else, but nooooo, she had to get stuck with a lazy bum of a Nara and a fat Akimichi. It seemed Kami hate her.

After announcing a few more teams, Iruka was finished. "Well, those are the teams. You're free now for lunch. I'll see you all in an hour." With that said, the genin stood up and assembled into their teams.

Sakura gave her rival a smirk. "See you later, Ino. Enjoy your new team." The Yamanaka snarled a bit at the pinkette before reluctantly followed Shikamaru and Chouji out of the classroom.

Facing her crush, Team 7's kunoichi sighed. "How about we go find a nice quiet place, Sasuke-kun? Just you and me?"

Naruto, having joined the two as the room soon became vacant, raised an eyebrow. "What about me? I'm on the team too, Sakura-chan."

"Go jump in a lake," she replied instantly without taking her eyes off the Uchiha heir.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto crossed his arms and smirked. "Gee, Sakura-chan, I guess this means you don't want to eat with us?" Seeing those green gems has turned and now were paying attention to him, the blond boy launched the bait. "Kaa-chan gave Sasuke and I a third bento box to share with our third teammate. She guessed that we would be on the same team, so she prepared just three boxes." He gave a shrug as he turned around. "However, if you don't want to eat it, I'll just give it to Ino. She'll probably appreciate it more. I don't think Kaa-chan will like it, if we tell her you refused her lunch."

"Eh?" Sakura blinked before realizing what Naruto was conveying. "Of course, I'll accept it! It'll be rude to deny such a gift from Mikoto-sama!"

"Great!" beamed Naruto. "Let's go then." He began walking down toward the bottom exit.

However, instead of following, Haruno turned back to facing Sasuke. "I'm sure you have the third box, right, Sasuke-kun? We'll leave Naruto and go somewhere else."

Raising a dark eyebrow, Sasuke responded by pointing to Naruto, who stood at the bottom of the room. "Naruto has the third box."

Eying the golden-haired boy, Sakura saw he grinned widely while holding up a scroll, which no doubt where the third bento box was sealed. Sighing in defeat, the longhaired pinkette gave in to the apparent conclusion. "Fine. We'll eat lunch together." The next moment, she changed expressions in a flash as she latched onto Sasuke's right arm. "Let's go, Sasuke-kun!" she chirped.

"Let go of me," Sasuke shrugged off the hand before marching around the girl and down the stairs. Sakura followed with starry eyes, not even faze by the brush-off.

Walking pass his brother, the blood son of Uchiha Mikoto led the way out of the room. Sakura followed, her voice told Naruto she was in awe of Sasuke. "Oh, he's sooo cool!"

Naruto picked up the rear with a shake of his head and a small grin. He still considered Sakura to be the prettiest girl in the class with her pink hair and captive emerald eyes. Yet over the years, he slowly lost interest in pursuing her and focused on the training Kaa-chan was giving him. He had admitted that Kaa-chan's training sure was better than being yelled at by a girl, who was not interested in him. He just wondered how long it would take Sakura to realize that Sasuke was just as much disinterested in her as she was to him. Most likely it would take years.

oooooooooooooooooo

Leaning his head back, Naruto looked up at the ceiling. There were a few cobwebs and one of the lights seemed to be titling a bit. Was that a spider crawling toward the front? ….

"AAARRGH!" the blond shouted as he grabbed his hair. "When will our sensei get here?!"

"Calm down, Dobe," Sasuke spoke from his usual seat next to the windows. "Shouting will not solve anything."

"Yeah," Sakura chided from her position two rows behind Naruto. "Just have patience. Sasuke-kun definitely is not shouting, although I do agree that this is ridiculous with this waiting."

Inside Sakura's head, Inner Sakura, Sakura's inner personality, appeared, raising a fist. "RIDICULOUS?! THE JERK IS SEVERAL HOURS LATE! WHAT KIND OF SENSEI WOULD BE SEVERAL HOURS LATE LIKE THIS?! KICK THE PERSON TO THE MOON! SHA!"

Naruto grumbled. "Well, I'm bored. Instead of being coop up waiting here, we could already been outside by now, doing something with our sensei, like training." His two teammates didn't say anything, for they were total agreement with him.

After lunch, which was a mild affair with Sakura asking Sasuke questions and paying no major attention to Naruto, they had returned to the classroom with the other graduates, and it was not long afterward that each team's jounin-sensei arrived and took his or her team away. Team 8's sensei was a beautiful kunoichi named Yuhi Kurenai, while Team 10's sensei was Sarutobi Asuma, whom Sasuke and Naruto recognized as the Third Hokage's youngest son. Only their team was left minutes after the last team left, and after one hour, Iruka-sensei left as well, stating he couldn't stay due to other work. He had bid the three good-bye as well as good luck before leaving.

Now here they were, least four hours after Iruka left and their sensei still has yet to appear. Naruto felt restless, while the other two sat calmly even though he could see his brother was tapping a finger on his desk and Sakura almost fell asleep a few times. The blond very much wanted to drive several kunai into their sensei's skull for this!

The three genin were quickly alerted, when the bottom entrance door slid open to reveal a silver-haired shinobi with a mask covering his face from the nose south and his headband slanted to cover his left eye. "Team 7, I presume?"

"Yeah, that's us," Naruto answered, his arms crossed as he scrutinized the man. "There is no other genin team here other than us, so we are Team 7."

The man eye smiled. "So true." Opening his right eye, he quickly examined the three genin before speaking again. "My first impression of you guys…." He saw they were waiting. "You're a bunch of idiots."

All three youngsters face faulted.

An angry Naruto was the first to recover quickly as he stood up and pointed to their supposed sensei. "This coming from a guy who is four hours late?!"

"Naruto is right!" Sakura fumed. "What kind of jounin are you?!"

"SHA!" Inner Sakura shouted. "KICK THE JERK IN THE BALLS!"

Sasuke stood up, his eyes narrowed at the jounin. "I'm in agreement with Naruto. You have no reason to judge us, when you're late." He paused for a moment. "Why are you late?"

"Oh, that?" the man eye smiled again. "Well, a black cat had walked across my path, so I have to take the long away around the village."

The three genin blinked at him. _"Is this guy for real?"_ they mentally asked.

"NEVERMIND KICKING THE GUY IN THE BALLS," Inner Sakura raged, "SLAM HIS RETARDED HEAD INTO A WALL! SHANNAROOOO!"

After chuckling, the silver-haired ninja pointed to the ceiling. "Meet me on the roof." With that said, he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Naruto growled a bit. "Sasuke, do you have a feeling this guy could have used the Shunshin to get here faster?"

"Yes, he could have used the Shunshin," Sasuke concurred, "but he took his time instead."

"I'm already starting to not like this guy," Naruto grated before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Sasuke followed suit, leaving a pink-haired girl all alone in the classroom.

"Not fair!" she whined. "I don't know that jutsu!" She ran out of the room toward the staircase that would lead to the Academy's roof.

oooooooooooooooooo

The silver-haired man chuckled upon seeing Sakura panting as she arrived at the Academy's right wing, rooftop open-patio. "Glad you can make it."

Sitting down to Sasuke's right side on the wide, small staircase, the tired kunoichi gave a mild glare at the jounin, who was in front of her team while leaning against the railing of the building. "Well, I do not have that transporter jutsu compared to Sasuke-kun and Naruto."

The jounin-sensei chuckled again. "Well, I was surprised too upon seeing the boys used the Shunshin to get here. It testified to how well their mother had trained them." Both Sasuke and Naruto smirked a bit, feeling proud of the compliment given to their mother.

Sakura smiled a bit at this. Who was she to complain regarding how well Mikoto-sama had trained Sasuke and Naruto? It just made the Uchiha boy so much cooler in her eyes regarding being trained by his mom.

Feeling a bit warm under the sunlight, the pinkette wished she had a bottle of water on her. It would have been better, if they had used the left wing's rooftop atrium, which has a nice half-circle bench at the end. Least that place was shaded.

"Well," the jounin began, "now that we're all here. How about you each introduce yourselves? Tell me your likes, dislikes, and dreams for the future."

Raising a hand, Sakura spoke what was no doubt on her teammates' minds as well. "What about you? You have not even told us your name yet."

Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, the silver-haired man chuckled. "Oops. Sorry about that." He paused, before his face became normal again while dropping his hand. "Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I like things I like. I dislike things I dislike, and my dreams are my dreams."

"_We learned nothing but his name,"_ all three 12-year-olds mentally grated, wondering again whether this guy was for real.

"Your turn, Pinky," Kakashi pointed to Sakura.

Haruno's cheeks took on a slight shade of red. "I'm Haruno Sakura. Well, I like…" She eyed Sasuke cutely. "My dreams…" She giggled while again eying the Uchiha heir. "AND I HATE INO-PIG! MAY SHE ROT IN MANURE!"

oooooooooooooooooo

In Training Ground 10, a bleach blonde girl sneezed. She rubbed her nose as she turned away from her teammates and sensei to glare in the direction of Konoha.

"Are you coming down with a cold, Ino?" asked Shikamaru. He did not want to get sick, for that would be too troublesome for him.

Ino shook his head. "No, I'm not catching a cold. I bet it is Forehead talking about me." She raised a fist in Konoha's direction. "MAY YOU BURN, FOREHEAD!"

All three males of Team 10 sweat-dropped.

oooooooooooooooooo

Sakura sneezed before glaring in a particular direction. "HA! UP YOURS, INO!" Her sensei and male peers sweat-dropped.

"_Just great,"_ Kakahsi mentally groaned. _"I have to get a deranged fangirl. How did she manage to graduate?"_

"_Keep this idiot away from me," _mentally declared Sasuke. He always wondered whether some of his fangirls should be put in a mental institution.

Naruto simply blinked before giving a shrug. Sakura, Ino, and other members of the Sasuke Fan Club were always a bit on the loopy side anyway.

After giving a sigh, Kakashi pointed to Naruto. "Your turn, Blondie."

Naruto's smile was wide and bright. "The name is Uzumaki Naruto! I love ramen, training, learning new jutsu, Hokage-jiji, Ichiraku's Ramen, and most importantly, Kaa-chan! She's the best!" Eying Sasuke, the blond boy amended his list. "Oh!" He wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulders. "I like my brother here too! He's a brooder, but he's okay!"

"Get off me, Dobe," Sasuke muttered before elbowing his adopted brother in the ribs, causing the boy to veer away with a snicker. Mikoto's blood son gave a tiny smirk,

"What I don't like," Naruto continued with a grim face, "are people who are selfish, arrogant, judge people unfairly, and try to harm others for their personal gains." He paused as his big smile returned to his face. "And my dream is to become the **best** Hokage in the village! Dattebayo!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, thinking Naruto was quite predictable with that dream of his. Sasuke once more smirked, thinking the same thing. Kakashi eye smiled with a chuckle. _"He's definitely your son, Minato-sensei, Kushina-sama."_

"Your turn, Brood Boy," Kakashi pointed to Sasuke.

Sasuke grunted, a bit irritated with that nickname. "The name is Uchiha Sasuke. I love my mother, who I swore to protect." He smirked a bit. "Maybe a bit of the Dobe here too. He's an idiot, but he's okay."

"Hey!" Naruto called out, while Sakura giggled.

The Uchiha Heir let his smirk faded before commencing. "I only have one thing I truly hate in this entire world, and it is part of my dream. I'm going to find that person who destroyed my clan and kill him, no matter how long it takes. Once done, I'll help Mother revive the clan."

Sakura sighed, thinking Sasuke was so cool, but Naruto sighed a bit sadly at the same time, while Kakashi just sighed.

"_It seems your son is out for revenge, Mikoto-sama,"_ Kakashi mentally said. _"Then again, maybe he is just seeking justice."_

Shrugging off the mystery whether Sasuke was seeking revenge or justice, the silver-haired jounin regarded the three teens for a moment before giving a small grin. "Well now… Now that we've all been introduced, I want you to be at Training Ground 7 tomorrow for your final genin test."

"Say what?!" Naruto called out incredulity before eying his brother, who also wore an expression of disbelief.

"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. "I thought we passed our tests. We're genin."

"Oh, the Acadmey tests were just to see who were qualify to become genin," Kakashi proclaimed, his voice sounding mischievous. "The graduates' final test are giving by the jounin-sensei, whom will determine whether the graduates become actual genin or not."

"That's not fair!" Naruto shouted as he stood up and pointed to the older shinobi. "We've been told that we are genin!"

Kakashi still kept an amused expression despite the whiskered boy's outburst. "That's the way things go, Naruto." He opened his single eye. "Training Ground 7 tomorrow at 5 AM." He mentally snickered upon seeing the gawking faces. "Oh, do not eat breakfast at all."

Sakura blinked in confusion. "Why?"

Team 7's jounin-sensei's lone eye creased into that amused expression again. "You're going to throw-up with the test I'm planning, so it's better you guys do not eat. Ta da." With a wave, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and swirling leaves.

Sasuke stood up to stand next to his adopted sibling, who was growling. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Naruto?" the dark-haired boy questioned.

"Yeah! The guy is a jerk!" he replied.

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke shook his head. "Besides that, Dobe. Do you remember what Mother said regarding eating before going into battle?"

Naruto instantly calmed down. "You're right. Kaa-chan always said that we should have a good meal before fighting."

"Precisely," the blood Uchiha temporarily pointed to the blonde at the same time Sakura stood up, listening to the conversation. "Fighting on an empty stomach is suicidal. Not only do we loose a source of energy by not eating, we also run into a chance of being distracted by our growling stomachs." Dark eyes narrowed at the spot where their so-called sensei had been. "He's up to something."

"But…" Sakura sputtered, finding it hard to belief their jounin-sensei had lied to them, yet it was impossible to dispute the wisdom of Sasuke's mother. "Why would Kakashi-sensei tell us not to eat then?"

"As I said," Sasuke answered, "he's up to something." His expression became thoughtful for a minute, before his eyes narrowed as he turned his gaze on his female teammate. "Think about it, Sakura, he told us to be there at 5 AM. How many hours late was he today?"

"He was four hours late," the pinkette replied in confusion. "Why does…" Her eyes went wide as she realized what her crush was telling her. "He's going to be late tomorrow, right?"

"Right," Sasuke nodded, glad to see Sakura figured it out. "If he had been on time with the other jounin-sensei, I would have thought he was being serious about being at the training ground at 5 AM. However, being late as he was today with that stupid excuse, I have a feeling he's going to be late tomorrow."

"That jerk!" Naruto shouted out to the sky with fisted hand.

Sakura's left eyebrow was ticking as she fumed. What kind of sensei was this guy?! First, he told them not to eat, and now, she knew Sasuke was right regarding the guy no doubt would be late tomorrow!

Inner Sakura manifested herself inside the girl's mind. "AAAARGH! FORGET ABOUT BASHING KAKASHI-BAKA INTO THE WALL! THROW HIM INTO A VOLCANO! SHANNAROOOO!"

Mikoto's youngest birth child could see both teammates wanted Kakashi's blood, and frankly, so was he. "Okay," he spoke, catching Sakura and Naruto's attention, "we'll be there at 8 AM, not 5 AM. We'll eat a good breakfast before leaving home. Whatever he has planned, we'll see tomorrow."

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned. "We're going to pass this test! We'll show Kakashi-sensei that we're genin!"

Sasuke widely smirked, feeling his brother's enthusiasm going through him. "You got that right, Dobe." He turned to see Sakura was grinning too, for she too couldn't contain her excitement to get back at that lying, one-eyed jounin.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Sasuke nodded to the pink-haired kunoichi. With that said, he vanished in smoke and leaves.

"Hey! Wait for me, Teme!" Naruto howled before he too disappeared via the Shunshin.

Left all alone, Sakura felt giddy over what they were going to do tomorrow. However, upon realizing Sasuke was gone, her expression became a disappointed one. "Oh, poo!" she swore and stomped her foot. "I didn't get a chance to ask Sasuke whether we can have dinner together!"

Sighing in knowing she missed another opportunity to date her crush, Team 7's kunoichi strolled toward the staircase, which would lead her down to the ground level and then to home.

Inner Sakura, however, was thinking of something else. "WE GOT TO LEARN THAT TELEPORTING JUTSU! IT'S SO COOL!"

oooooooooooooooooo

As her skillful hands chopped up meat and vegetables for the stew, Mikoto heard the voices of her sons emanating from the hallway, and when the sounds grew louder as the two boys approached the kitchen, the 39-year-old woman turned her torso just in time to see her children entered the room.

"Welcome home, boys," she greeted with a grin before placing down the knife on the counter's chopping block prior to turning around fully to face her sons. She wiped her hands on her apron, which covered her usual housewife garbs. "Who do you get for your jounin-sensei?"

The boys looked at each other briefly before fixing their eyes on their mother. "Mother," Sasuke began, "what do you know of the jounin, Hatake Kakashi?"

Mikoto blinked in surprise. "Kakashi? You gotten Kakashi?" Both boys nodded. "Well, I know he is one of the best jounin in the village." Her lips flattened into a frown. "These days he is quite known for being notoriously late for meetings, although I understand he used to be a serious shinobi during his younger days though."

"He had been a serious shinobi?" asked her blood son, not believing it.

The older woman nodded with a sad grin. "He had been part of the Third Great Shinobi War. The war had been terrible and brutal. After the war, Kakashi became more of a relaxed person than someone who took the rules seriously." Her frown returned as she placed her right hand on her right hip. "Although, he became way too lax, being constantly late." She noticed her boys frowned deeply upon hearing that. "I'm guessing he was late in meeting your team, right?" she sighed.

"He was **four** hours late, Kaa-chan!" growled Naruto.

Sasuke backed up the blond. "The jounin-sensei were supposed to meet their teams at 1 PM after lunch. All the other teams' jounin-sensei were on time. Kakashi didn't arrive until 5 PM, Mother."

The Uchiha Matriarch closed her eyes and shook her head in disappointment. After a few moments, her eyelids opened again. "What did he do when you met him?"

Naruto shrugged. "Just made us go to the Academy's roof and just introduce each other. That's it."

"He's giving us a test tomorrow at Training Ground 7," Sasuke picked up the conversation. "Yet given he was late today and you confirmed, Mother, that he's the type to be constantly late, Naruto and I figured out that it will be waste of time to be there tomorrow at 5 AM as he said we should. We're planning to be there at 8 PM instead."

Mikoto sighed once more, but she also gave an approving grin at her children. "You boys learned this on your own, and that's good."

"Kaa-chan," the whiskered boy frowned, "he also told us not to eat breakfast." The raven-haired woman blinked at this. "That's stupid! You told us that we should not ever go into battle on an empty stomach!" Mikoto's expression quickly became amused. "We're not to going to do that!"

"Once more," she nodded in approval, "you learned on your own. So…" The Uchiha Head paused for a moment. "What do you think is going to happen tomorrow?"

She saw her sons frowned in thought, but it was Sasuke who answered. "That's the point. We don't know what he is up to, Mother. He is up to something, from the way he tried to make us be at the training ground early and suggesting for us not to eat breakfast. Just we do not know."

An idea sprang to Naruto's head, causing him to spring hopeful eyes at his adopted mother. "Kaa-chan! Can you tell—"

Mikoto raised a hand to cut her son off. "I'm sorry, Naruto," she grinned apologetically before lowering her hand. "I have an idea to what Kakashi might do on the test, but I can not help you. You, Sasuke, and your third teammate have to figure out the test on your own." She softly chuckled upon seeing Naruto's disappointment look. "I have a good feeling you boys will pass," she reassured them. "As long as you remember that this is a shinobi test, you'll be okay."

Naruto nodded, still feeling disappointed for not getting any hints. Sasuke's mind however was whirling in thought. _"Did she just gave a hint? 'As long as you remember that this is a shinobi test'? What did she mean by that?"_

Clapping her hands once to get her children's attention, the brunette kunoichi gestured to the kitchen's exit. "Now go clean up, boys. I'll have dinner ready in 15 minutes." Miikoto turned around to return to preparing dinner as the boys headed out of the room.

Just as Naruto and Sasuke reached the door, Mikoto swiftly spun around. "Oh, boys." She saw them stop and looked at her. "Who is your third teammate?"

"Haruno Sakura," Sasuke replied before leaving the room, followed by Naruto, who was looking forward to another great meal prepared by his Kaa-chan, for it least would get his mind off tomorrow's test for awhile.

Turning back to face the counter, Mikoto stared ahead for a few moments, yet when she resumed chopping the ingredients for the stew, her expression was bit grim as she sliced the food with a bit more force than normal.

Was she surprise? Not really, given her sons told her Haruno's scores indicated she was most likely to graduate as Top Kunoichi of the class. If Sasuke was Top Rookie and Naruto was paired with him due to their teamwork, it was obviously the Top Kunoichi would be place with them to round out the team, and that kunoichi was Haruno.

Was she upset? Of course, she was a bit upset. A **fangirl** was placed on her sons' team. A fangirl! Mikoto could already predict the pink-haired girl would be more focus on wooing Sasuke than being serious about being a kunoichi. She would give the young lady a benefit of a doubt, hoping that Kakashi might get the girl to take training seriously in the upcoming months. However, if Haruno would not change her fangirl ways… Well, the Uchiha Matriarch would definitely have a **few words** to say to the starry-eyed teen.

Swiftly dumping the chopped ingredients into the boiling pot, Mikoto gave a satisfied grin on not only for getting the stew ready, but also for her plan regarding the Haruno girl. She quickly added a mental note to extend the same plan to Kakashi as well, if the man did not take his role as jounin-sensei sincerely.

Stabbing the knife into the wooden chopping block, the still-grinning mother of two went about to set the table and get dinner ready for her family.

oooooooooooooooooo

In a swirl of smoke, Kakashi appeared, via the Shunshin, into the clearing of Training Ground 7. He noticed Sasuke and Naruto were doing some light taijutsu sparring, while Sakura sat besides the black stone memorial monument. When all three noticed him, he raised a hand and eye smiled. "Sorry I was late. I had gotten lost on the Road of Life on the way here."

The three genin blinked, thinking as they had yesterday that this guy was nuts, yet it was Naruto who recovered first as he gave a shrug and grin. "That's okay. You were only one hour late anyway."

This time, it was Kakashi's turn to blink in confusion. "One hour? Surely, you three were here at 5 AM, right?"

Sakura giggled. "Nope. We were here at 8 AM. Sasuke-kun figured out you would be late today, as you were yesterday, so he told us to be here at eight instead of five." The smirks on Naruto and Sasuke's faces verified to the jounin that what she said was true.

_"They've adapted fast," _the silver-haired shinobi admitted mentally, giving the trio points for not falling for his trick twice.

After giving a shrug, Kakashi strolled over to three wooden posts not far from the stone memorial as Sakura stood up and joined her teammates. They watched as their sensei placed a clock with a timer on top of the middle post before turning around to face them.

"The test is for you to steal these bells from me," he started as his left hand pulled out two small stringed bells, jingling them in front of the three teens. "If you each nab one, you'll pass Simple as that." His hand hung the bells on his left hip within eyesight.

Sakura spoke out, realizing something was wrong. "But Sensei… There are only two bells."

Kakashi eye smiled. "Oh, only two of you will pass. The third will go back the Academy."

"Say what?!" Naruto shouted in disbelief, while the expressions of his teammates said they too couldn't believe what they heard. "That's not fair! We all graduated!"

The grinning jounin was not perturbed by the outburst. "Well, that's the way it goes, Naruto." He paused to take out two bento boxes out of his back pouch. "In addition for failing to get a bell, the looser will be tied to this post and watch the other two eat lunch I provided here. I hope you three are really **hungry**," he chuckled.

While Naruto snarled and Sakura looked worry, no doubt knowing she would be likely the one to return to the Academy, Sasuke narrowed his eyes at their teacher, hearing the emphasis stressed on that last word. _"So that's why he wanted us not to eat breakfast. He wanted us to be weakened. It's a good thing we ate breakfast."_

"You got until 12 noon to get a bell," Kakashi continued. "The buzzer on the clock will sound by that time." His face quickly became serious. "You must come at me with intent to kill, if you want to get a bell. Remember, look underneath the underneath."

While Sakura gulped and nodded and Naruto prepared for the fight, determine to win and show this wise guy a thing or two, Sasuke once more thought on what the jounin said. _"'Look underneath the underneath'? What did he mean by that?"_

Chuckling again, seeing the three 13 year olds were ready judging by their postures, Kakashi touched the clock's timer with his freed hand. "Go!" The two boys disappeared in a blink of an eye, while Sakura jumped away, easily followed by eyesight, into the woods.

The older shinobi nodded approvingly at Naruto and Sasuke's quick departure. _"Not bad. Given Hokage-sama's story regarding Naruto and Sasuke's fight with Mizuki, it quite apparent Mikoto-sama had taught her sons well."_ Placing the bento boxes down next to the memorial stone, Konoha's Copy Nin challengingly grinned. _"Let us see how well you two perform."_

Within the forest, Naruto and Sasuke landed in a small clearing. As much as each wanted to keep an eye on Kakashi, they needed to get far enough away to converse without being overheard. Least Naruto had the foresight to create a Kage Bushin to watch over their sensei and what Sakura was doing.

"Okay, what should we do?" the blond asked his brunette sibling. "I say we storm him. My Kage Bushins will distract him, while you get close enough to nab those bells."

"I'm not sure," Sasuke nearly muttered as he crossed his arms and thought about it. "Even if we do work together, we might not be enough for him."

"What do you mean?" Naruto blinked in confusion. "We did well in capturing Mizuki-baka."

Sasuke frowned. "Mizuki was a chuunin, and furthermore, he had underestimated us. Kakashi is a jounin. Do you think he would not be prepared for us?" Seeing the defeated pout on the other boy's face told the Uchiha Heir that his brother understood the situation. "Precisely. This fight will not be easy."

However, after a few moments of thought, Mikoto's youngest blood son shrugged. "Yet we're not going to learn how Kakashi fights by standing around here. Let's try that frontal assault."

"Alright!" Naruto pumped a fist, wanting to try his skills out on a jounin. Not that Kaa-chan counted; just he wanted to really go full out, yet he did not want to ever hurt Mikoto. The same he knew of Sasuke, for his brother would not ever fight with intents to kill against his mother.

With a nod to each other, the two sons of Uchiha Mikoto sprinted through the trees, one stayed on the ground, while the other took through the branches.

Meanwhile, not far from the main clearing, Sakura, laying on the ground in a bush, watched the silver-haired shinobi. He seemed very relax as he stood there gazing about. A few times he look away from her toward a particular direction for a moment before returning to looking around the place. Then he suddenly looked back toward the forest and eye smiled. The pinkette wondered why was he smiling, when the answer came that caught her unaware.

Out of the woods, dozens of kunai came horizontally at Kakashi, who simply jumped out of the way before the weapons contacted the ground, where they exploded from the explosive notes wrapped around the handles. Yet before the jounin could land on the ground, dozens of golden-haired figures emerged out of the forest, running toward their target. A few threw some kunai and shuriken at the older man, who simply knocked them out of the way with a kunai, and when he finally landed, the blond figures reached him and began to taijutsu fight with him.

Sakura couldn't believe what she was seeing. _"Naruto! They're all Naruto! How can this be possible?! They're not regular Bushin, for they appear to be pretty solid!"_

Kakashi was impressed. These clones were somewhat organized in the way they fight, yet despite the numbers, it still was not enough to score a hit on him or get near the bells. Yet as the number of bushins dwindled due to him hitting them hard enough to dispel them, the jounin knew something was coming. Why go through just taijutsu fighting him this way?

Surely enough, as Kakashi surmised, a blurred figure leapt out of the wood's branches into the air before soaring down toward him with a foot extended. The Copy Nin barely had enough time to see it was Sasuke before that foot slammed into his stomach with enough force to smash his body into the ground forming a cloud of dust.

"_Sasuke-kun got him!"_ Sakura nearly squealed with excitement, seeing the dust settled to reveal their sensei situated on his back in a tiny crater. Yet her exhilaration didn't last long as Kakashi's body disappeared in a cloud of smoke to be replaced with a wooden log. _"Nuts! Spoke too soon!"_

"My, my," spoke Kakashi, alerting the three genin to his position standing next to the three posts. "I have to say you boys have good skills and teamwork," he smiled. "You do Mikoto-sama proud."

The sons of Uchiha Mikoto smirked together. "That's why together, we're going to beat you butt into the ground, Kakashi-sensei!" exclaimed Naruto.

Kakashi chuckled. "I'm afraid I'm not going to allow you to try that a second time, Naruto. How about we up the stakes here?" _"As much as I want to not let them know yet about the eye, I know they will eventually know about it soon or later anyway." _His left hand reached up to push up his headband to reveal his left eye, which shocked all three teens.

"_But… But…"_ Sakura mentally stuttered. _"How is that possible?!"_

"Do you see what I see, Sasuke?" Naruto said wide-eyed. "Is that--?"

"The Sharingan," Sasuke finished before his wide-eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How did you get that eye? You're not an Uchiha."

The elite jounin gave a slight nervous yet reassuring grin. "It's a gift, I swear. It's from a friend, who was an Uchiha. He wanted me to have the eye." His grin dropped a bit as he took a stance. "Now then, come at me, boys. You're not going to get a bell by standing there."

Sasuke quickly formed several hand signs before funneling his mouth with a hand. **"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Elemetn: Great Fireball Technique)!"** he shouted before shooting a massive fireball at the silver-haired man, who dodged out of way yet was facing another fail of kunai and shuriken thrown by Naruto.

While deflecting the second round of metal projectiles, Kakashi noticed the black-haired Uchiha heading toward him while forming hand-signs, which he recognized. **"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu (Fire Element: Art of the Phoenix Flower Technique)!"** The teenage boy spitted out smaller balls of flame toward the man, who jumped into the air only to be followed by Sasuke, who kept the fire barrage at him. Kakashi once more dodged and avoided being hit, but when he landed on the ground, he was in for another surprise.

Least a dozen of Naruto's nearby kunai and shuriken burst into smoke to reveal they were Henge'd Kage Bushin, whom all ganged up on the jounin, for he once more found himself in the middle of taijutsu fight. _"Naruto must have had the clones done the Henge in the woods before Sasuke and he started the first attack. Clever."_

Suddenly, boomerang-like projectiles were seen around the fighting group, and out of the corner of his eyes, the Copy Nin saw they were attached by wires that led back to Sasuke, who pulled on the metal strings to make the boomerangs come back to start wrapping themselves around Kakashi. Any Naruto clones in the way dispersed to allow the wires to clamp tight against the man.

"Alirght!" the real Naruto fisted a hand besides Sasuke, who smirked. "We did it!"

"Knock him out, Naruto," Sasuke ordered.

With a big grin, Naruto made the cross-seal and summoned a dozen Kage Bushins, and then they proceeded to beat Kakashi into unconsciousness, making Sakura, still in her hiding place, winced at the beating. After looking down at his banged-up sensei for a few moments, the blonde was about to reach for the bells, when something began happening to the body. It turned brown and began to melt away like mud, surprising both boys.

"A Earth clone!" the Uchiha Heir nearly shouted out, realizing what it was.

"Then where's the real Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto cried out.

Before Mikoto's sons could react, the so-called real Kakshi burst out of the ground behind Sasuke and kicked him hard enough to slam the boy into his adopted brother and his clones. The boys tumbled together to the ground as the Kage Bushins all dispelled out of existence.

Kakashi smiled down at the two growling boys looking at him. "Close, but not close enough." He swayed his hips a bit to make the bells jingle, mocking the male teenagers with their sound.

After standing up, Sasuke gestured for his foster sibling to follow him. "Let's retreat, Naruto."

"What?!" shouted Naruto incredulously. "You got to be kidding me, Sasuke! We can still beat him!"

"Have you forgotten Mother's lessons regarding tactical retreat, Dobe?"

The blond shook his head, his eyes narrowed as he trained his eyesight again on a still grinning Kakashi. "'There's no shame in loosing a minor battle in retreat, if it means winning the war later.'"

"Precisely," the Uchiha boy nodded. "Let's go." With that said, the brunet Shunshin'd away, followed by a peeved Naruto.

Watching the boys teleported away, Konoha's Copy Cat Kakashi smiled even more. _"You definitely taught them well, Mikoto-sama."_

Sensing a slight disturbance in a nearby bush and a figure running away from the clearing deeper into the forest, Kakashi chuckled as he pulled down his hitai-ate over his Sharingan eye. He knew precisely who the retreating person was. _"Now that I have a good first-hand experience of the boys' skills, it's time to test out our lone kunoichi's talents."_

oooooooooooooooooo

Landing back to where they had originally plotted their first plan, Sasuke turned to Naruto and crossed his arms. "Well, so much for that plan. As I had thought, even with the two of us tackling Kakshi together, we couldn't even beat him, nevertheless get a single bell."

"Well, we have to do something," Naruto fretted.

Fingering his chin, Sasuke was deep in thought. "I swear something is just not right here. Just what is it?"

They thought long and hard, wondering how to come up on top of this 'game'.

oooooooooooooooooo

Running through the woods, Sakura looked high and low for her two teammates. She knew they were skilled, thanks to Mikoto-sama, but it was not like they have the ability to disappear out of sight totally, right? Why was it so hard to find Naruto and Sasuke-kun?

Coming to a stop next to a bush to catch her breath, the pinkette wondered what would become of her. The boys definitely got the upper hand compared to her, thus she knew she would be the one to loose. It just was not fair for her to work so hard at the Academy only for her to return to the school as a failure.

Suddenly, she felt a presence right next to her, and when she turned her head, she was startled to see her jounin-sensei was looking at her from the bush, his face crinkled in that eye smile. "Hi, Sakura. You look like you're lost."

Yet before the girl could say or do anything, Kakashi has raised both hands, his right gripping over the extended index and middle fingers of his left. In front of her green eyes, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves that went around her and twirled upward, like she was in the middle of a mini-twister. When the display was over, Sakura blinked, seeing the silver-haired man was nowhere in sight.

"Now where did he go?" she asked, looking left, right and up. This was weird.

"Sakura…" said a male voice from behind her.

Sakura recognized the voice and became elated. "Sasuke-kun!" she called out happily as she turned around. However, her happiness was short-lived upon seeing Sasuke was severely wounded with dozens of kunai and shuriken sticking in his body. Behind Sasuke, Naruo was seen on the ground in a similar state of impairment.

"Run, Sakura," wheezed the Uchiha. "Get away."

Seeing her crush and Naruto looking like they were going to die was too much for her. Sakura let out a very loud scream of despair before passing out from the extreme emotional overload. She fell backward to the ground in an unconscious state.

Up in a tree, Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the young kunoichi. _"Hmmmm… Maybe I went too far with the gory stuff."_ A moment later, he shook his head and chuckled. "Naaa."

Leaping away, the Copy Nin decided to head back to the main clearing and awaited what Sasuke and Naruto would do next.

oooooooooooooooooo

Upon hearing a loud feminine scream, Sasuke and Naruto turned toward the direction they heard the commotion.

"That sounds like Sakura-chan!" admitted Naruto, concerned now for his female teammate.

Guessing that Kakashi has something to do with making Sakura screamed, Sasuke gestured for the blond to follow him. "Come on. Let's investigate."

Naruto did not argue as they leaped into the trees, heading toward where they heard Sakura, and it was not long when they spotted the unconscious girl and landed on either side of her. Looking at her, it was apparent she has no wounds or even a bruise to indicate she was in combat. Sasuke now had a good hunch to what caused the kunoichi to pass out.

"Sakura," the raven-haired boy said, trying to wake her up by tapping her shoulder. "Wake up." After a few more nudges, green eyes blinked open.

Upon noticing he was alive and okay, Sakura gasped before suddenly sitting up to wrap her arms around Sasuke, startling both boys. "Sasuke-kun! You're alive!"

Sasuke sighed, for this was not what he had in mind. "Sakura?"

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" she sighed happily as her hands felt clothed back muscles.

"Get off me," he replied prior to forcing her away from him by the shoulders. Naruto snickered, prompting a slight tick of the Uchiha's left eye.

Sighing once more to calm himself, Sasuke once more eyed the pinkette. "Sakura, we heard your scream, and we came as quickly as we can. Did you run into Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yeah," she nodded before launching into telling what had happened, and by the time she was finished, Sasuke and Naruto were slightly frowning.

"As I thought," Sasuke spoke, "he cast a genjutsu on you, Sakura. It perhaps was a low-level one."

The pink-haired girl felt stupid. "I know. I'm usually good in detecting D-rank genjutsu." She lowered her head, feeling slightly ashamed. "I don't believe I fell for such a trick." Before either boy could speak, Sakura muttered, her tone indicated she was miserable. "I know now I definitely will be sent back to the Academy. You two are going to pass this test, so just leave me here and get those bells."

"Hey!" Naruto cried out, surprise by her solemn mood. "Don't think such a thing, Sakura-chan!" Green eyes lifted up to gaze into intense sapphire blues. "When it comes to smarts, you're one of the smartest people I know in the entire class! Kaa-chan told me that some of the best ninja in the world are those who think on their feet, and you're smart enough to be one of them! Don't just give up!"

Sasuke slightly smirk in approval of his brother's words, watching Sakura slightly grin, her spirits lifted a bit by the golden-haired boy. "Thank you, Naruto," she responded. Yet her grin faltered a bit when she spoke again. "However, it does not change the fact that I am the weakest of the three of us. You two will get those bells, I know it."

This time Sasuke shook his head. "I know we're not going to get those bells, Sakura." His words caught his two teammates' attention. "As strong as Naruto and I are together, we just are not strong enough to fight against a highly trained jounin. Something just does not make sense with this test."

Sakura blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Why go through the trouble of testing our ability to get a bell, when it is obvious we are not skilled enough to nab a bell from a jounin?" asked the Uchiha rhetorically. "This test feels like it is rigged for all of us to fail, not just you, Sakura."

"But… but… That's not fair!" shouted Sakura.

"Definitely not fair!" agreed Naruto, his right hand fisted. "We got to do something!"

"I know," nodded Sasuke, his mind whirling. "Just I don't know what we can do. There's more to this test than meets the eye. Just what is it?" With that said, all three fell into silence, their brains racking to find the solution to this dilemma.

Several minutes later, a cross-armed Naruto hummed, when something came to the forefront of his mind. "Hey, Sasuke?" Seeing he gotten both his brother and Sakura's attention, the blond continued. "Do you remember what Kaa-chan told us a year ago about genin teams?"

"What about it?" enquired Sasuke.

"Well… Kaa-chan said that genin teams are always made of three genin. If this was the case, why did Kakashi-sensei said only two of us will pass? This makes no sense to me."

Sasuke blinked and blinked again, until he slapped his forehead. "That's **it**! How blind can we be?!"

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked in confusion.

The brunet boy pointed to his brother. "You said it yourself, Naruto. Mother clearly stated that a genin team consists of **three** genin, always. With the rare exception of a jounin taking a single genin as an apprentice, genin **always** are in groups of three. The reason why is that a single ninja squad always have **four** people. There is no such thing as a **three-man** squad consisting of just two genin and one jounin-sensei, especially with just-graduated genin! It's always one jounin-sensei and three genin!"

Sakura gasped, finally seeing what her crush was seeing. "So this test is set for either all of pass or none of us pass!"

"Precisely," Mikoto's blood son momentarily pointed to his female teammate. "It's clear that this test to nab the bells is a front for the **real** test. Kakashi said to look underneath the **underneath**, and Mother yesterday said this is a **shinobi** test. Their words were hidden messages to tell us that in order to pass this test; we have to find the hidden test within this test."

"Okay," Naruto nodded in understanding. "So what is this hidden test?"

Sasuke smirked widely. "The answer is right in front of our noses, Dobe. Think about it. Why are genin put in teams of three?"

The boys' female teammate answered instead. "From what I know, genin are not powerful compare to chuunin or even jounin. Given our skills are not strong enough to tackle stronger and more powerful opponents, we are placed in groups of three to work together as teams as we grow stronger, gaining new skills taught to us by the jounin-sensei."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, remembering what his adopted mother had told him a year ago. "Teamwork?"

"That's the answer," Sasuke knowingly grinned. "Either we work together or we fail as a unit. Mother has been training us to work together for years, Naruto. We just have to have Sakura to work with us on our next attack to show Kakashi that we can work together."

Sakura couldn't believe it. "That simple? Just show we can work together?" Sasuke's nod provided her with hope that she would pass this test, now that she knew what the hidden test was about.

Hearing muffled laughter, the black-haired boy and pink-haired girl turned to their blond colleague, who began elaborating why he was chuckling. "How about we give Kakashi-sensei a taste of his own medicine?"

After hearing Naruto explained what he had in mind, both Sasuke and Sakura agreed to the plan. It would indeed required all three of them to work together, but if all went well, none of them would have to worry about going back to the Academy.

oooooooooooooooooo

Kakashi giggled, enjoying reading his favorite orange-colored book as he waited in the main clear nearby the Memorial Stone. Yet despite his eyes were on the words on the pages, his shinobi senses were on guard, and once he detected three people were approaching his position, he closed the book and placed it back in his rear pouch. He inwardly grinned upon having had noticed the **third **person.

"_Well, it seems you boys have finally included Sakura. What are the three of you going to do?"_

The answer came, when Sasuke and Naruto burst out of the tree tops and began to attack. They first launched kunai and shuriken at their target, which easily dodged and moved out of the way, before the duo landed and initiated hand-to-hand combat with Kakashi.

Yet for the seasoned jounin, it was obvious what the boys were doing as the pair was herding him toward the forest, and as he predicted, Sakura came out of the woods and propelled at him dozens of shuriken and kunai, which mostly had explosive notes on them. The explosions fell short of their goal, but they blanketed Kakashi in a cloud of smoke.

When the smoke cleared, the elite warrior looked up to see all three teens were coming right down at him with kunai drawn ready to strike. His face was serious, but in his mind, Kakashi was laughing. _"Clever!"_

The silver-haired man side-stepped the assault before the trio landed, yet instead of counterattacking, the man raised a single hand up in the two-finger sign. "Kai!" he yelled.

The three genin suddenly shimmered away to show Naruto and Sasuke were in front of him meters away. The boys instantly ran toward him with growling, annoyed expressions. "Sasuke, he easily cancelled your genjutsu!" cried out the blond as they approached Kakashi.

"Not only that…" the jounin added. He all of the sudden reached behind him and again yelled "Kai!" Sakura's form shimmered into being right next to him prior to his hand grabbing her hand before she could take the bells from his person. Kakashi spun around and threw the screeching kunoichi at the boys, who was caught by surprise by the movement. The three teens tumbled into the ground. "I can also detect multiple layered genjutsu."

"I was so close!" whined Sakura as she raised herself off the ground as her teammates done the same.

Kakashi eye-smiled at the three. "Clever plan, you three cooked up. While the smoke momentarily blinded me, Sakura cast a low-level genjutsu to render herself invisible. Meantime, Sasuke cast another low-level genjutsu over me to make me see the illusion of the three of you attacking me from the air. You were hoping that even if I did detect and cancel Sasuke's genjutsu, I wouldn't be paying attention enough to notice Sakura as she sneaked up on me to grab the bells." He chuckled. "Unfortunately for you, as I said, I can detect multiple layered genjutsu. I immediately sensed the two illusions being cast when I was in the cloud of smoke. Maybe it could have worked, if they were high-level genjutsu instead of low-level ones."

After a few moments of smiling down at the three, peeved genin, Kakashi pointed to the clock on post. "You got another 30 minutes to get these bells. If you don't, all of you will fail."

"You're wrong," Sasuke replied with a bit of heat. Only then did his lips curved up lopsidedly on one side. "We figured out the **true** test, and it's not to get those bells."

Upon seeing Kakashi's curious face, the Uchiha Heir explained what he and his teammates knew. "You're a highly trained jounin, so there is no way the three of us can get those bells, even if we work together."

Naruto took over. "Kaa-chan told Sasuke and me a year ago that a genin team always has three genin. **Always**."

"That was when I realized the truth," Sasuke said. "You lied to us. There was no way to form a squad with only two genin and one jounin-sensei. You said to look underneath the **underneath**, and Mother told Naruto and me yesterday that this was a **shinobi** test. The bell test was a front for the real test."

Sakura spoke, her green eyes blazing. "I remember reading that genin were placed in teams in order to **work together**. By working together, a genin team can hopefully defeat opponents that a chuunin or jounin could defeated alone."

Sasuke took a few steps, approaching the older man. "That's the test…to show whether we can work together. You came up with the story of only two of us would pass in order to divide us. Well, we saw through that story and figured out the real test." He stopped in front of Kakashi, and out of the corner of his eyes, the boy saw his teammates flanking him just behind him.

"Is that what you think?" Kakashi said seriously, his eyes became harder as his face became angrier at each word he spoke. "You thought I, a jounin, lied to you about this test, and that this test was about teamwork?! Is this what you think?!"

"YES!" all three genin replied with serious expressions, although the Killing Intent, Kakashi was releasing, was making them sweat. The boys were used to such KI, having trained under their mother to resist KI as best as possible. Sakura had no training, but by force of will, she prevent herself from fleeing like a scared animal.

"Then I'll pass judgment on you now!" yelled Kakashi, thunderclouds was seen around him with lightning strikes. "You three…" Suddenly the clouds were gone and the one-eyed main eye-smiled at them with his right thumb up. "**Pass **then!"

Sasuke smirked, while Naruto laughed with raised fists in victory. Sakura felt relieved the KI was gone, yet it took her a few moments to realize what the older man had said. "We… We pass?" After Kakashi nodded an affirmative, the pinkette squealed before tightly hugging Sasuke. "We pass, Sasuke-kun! We pass!"

The Uchiha boy frowned with a ticking eyebrow. Did this girl have to invade his personal space all the time now? "Get off, Sakura," he said, pushing the girl away from him. Despite being pushed away, it did not diminish her happy mood.

After chuckling at the boy's expense, Team 7's now-official sensei raised a hand to get his new team's attention. "I have to say that was good deduction work on figuring out the real test. You done well."

Naruto smiled at the praise. "Kaa-chan should get the credit. She's a great teacher!"

Kakashi once more eye smiled. "I'm sure she is, Naruto." With that said, he began walking over to the three posts to retrieve the clock. "You three can share the two bento boxes. I'm sure you're hungry by now with having skipped breakfast."

"Actually, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura spoke, still tickled on having passed the test, "the three of us ate breakfast." Seeing the man had turned around and gave them a curious look, the young kunoichi told the whole story about what Sasuke and Naruto figured out yesterday and the reason why a ninja shouldn't ever go into battle on an empty stomach.

Once the story was done, the one-eyed shinobi chuckled again. _"You taught them perhaps __**too well**__, Mikoto-sama. I fear that I might not have anything to teach your sons, if you already taught them everything that is."_

Watching Naruto popped out a dinner plate with chopsticks out of a storage scroll and divided the two boxes' contents evenly among the three of them; Kakashi picked up the clock, deactivated it, and strolled back to the Memorial Stone. He walked toward the flat side, containing the names of the fallen.

As the three genin ate on the side of the stone, they looked at their new sensei, looking forlorn at the memorial. Sensing their stares, Kakashi began to speak.

"You all perhaps know what this memorial is supposed to be about. It honors those shinobi and kunoichi, who died for the village. As ninja, we will at times be ordered to make the ultimate sacrifice to make certain the village and the people survive. Working together and supporting one another is why our village is strong." He paused as his eyes paused at a name on the stone. "Those who disobey the rules are trash, but remember, those who abandon their friends are **worst** than trash." His eyes turned to look at his new students with an expression, which told the teens he was serious. "This is why I gave you this test, to see whether you three will work together and support one another. I will not take a team who do not care for each other at all." The trio nodded their understanding.

As silence once more came to the training grounds, the genin ate and their teacher continued to stare at the names on the stone. Yet a few minutes later, after he had finished his meal, Sasuke broke the quiet with a question.

"Kakashi-sensei," he began, and after he caught the man's attention, he commenced. "Who was the Uchiha who gave you the eye?"

The jounin gave a somber grin. "His name was Obito. He was not your typical Uchiha from the way he acted. During the last Great Shinobi World War, he gave up his life to make certain two of his comrades live. I was one of those comrades." He paused to look at the name on the plaque. "Before he died, he gave me his left eye to replace the one I had lost." Kakashi once more paused to give a small grin at the Uchiha successor. "If you want to know more, ask you mother, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded, sensing the man did not want to elaborate further. Judging from his expressions and tone of voice, it must had been quite a bad experience for the older man. After all, if Kakashi had fought in the Third Great Shinobi World War, the man must had been no older than 15 at most prior to the war's end.

"Anyway," Kakashi said casually, "tomorrow we'll start our first day as Team 7, which also will be known at Team Kakashi in the records. Our meeting place every day will be the wooden Kingyo Bridge at 7 AM, unless I say otherwise." He grinned at the three. "I'm going to report to the Hokage you've passed the test. You're free for the rest of the day to tell your families you've passed. Until tomorrow, ta da." With that said, the jounin vanished in a swirl of smoke and leaves.

Having finished eating, Naruto sealed away the dinner plate and chopsticks before standing up. "Kaa-chan is going to be so please we've passed, Sasuke! I can't wait to tell her!"

The black-haired boy smirked in agreement. It would have been better if either he or Naruto had nabbed a bell to tell Mother they had beaten a jounin. Maybe one day they would be strong enough to do so. Until then, Sasuke knew he has to continue training and get stronger.

Holding her empty bento box, Sakura rose and eyed Sasuke. "So Sasuke-kun…" she began, catching both boys' attention. "How about we celebrate? Say dinner together?"

Sasuke raised a disinterest eyebrow at her. "No," he simply answered, before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and leaves.

Naruto chuckled as Sakura frowned disappointedly. "Better luck next time, Sakura-chan," he snickered. "Teme is not going to give you that date for a **long **time." With that said, the blond too used the Shunshin to teleported away, leaving behind a slightly frustrated kunoichi.

"I definitely have to learn that transportation jutsu," muttered Sakura, swearing that when she did, she would be able to follow Sasuke, no matter where he went.

Gazing down to the ground, green eyes spotted the second empty bento box, and the next moment, a pink-haired girl squealed. She picked up the box; thrilled to have the box her crush has eaten out of. She ran off toward home, imagining Ino's face upon finding out she has a bento box of Sasuke's, not to mention she was now officially on the same team as Sasuke's.

"CHA!" Inner Sakura yelled. "WE'RE CLOSER NOW TO SASUKE-KUN THAN EVER BEFORE! TAKE THAT, INO-PIG! HE'S MINE!"

oooooooooooooooooo

**With passing the test, the members of the newly formed Team Kakashi had begun their careers as official warriors of the Konoha Shinobi Force. Today, psychologists are still debating over whether Hatake's Test of Teamwork was fair and just, wondering how many potential shinobi and kunoichi had lost a chance to shine. However, no one disputes the jounin's reasoning, for indeed one of Konoha's greatest strengths is in the great bond of comradeship and family felt within all. A team, which does not share this bond, is most likely to be doomed as a unit than a team that has the bond.**

**Yet as Team Kakashi just gotten started to walk together, their leader would face his own personal test. A test of character to see whether he was worthy to guide and train these three genin, and none other than the woman in the center of Sasuke and Naruto's lives would give it and pass judgment… Uchiha Mikoto.**

oooooooooooooooooo

TBC (End of Chapter 6)

A/Ns:

1) Okay now, I can hear some of you complaining that I'm following canon with assigning Sakura as the kunoichi teammate and Kakashi as the jounin-sensei. Believe me, I really did thought long and hard about it, and I just can not create a different Team 7 for several reasons…

One, due that Sasuke and Naruto will be staying together, the jounin sensei has to have the knowledge of not only of how to be a ninja, but also know about the Sharingan. Kakashi fits this. So besides Mikoto, Kakashi is the only other person who can help Sasuke with his Sharingan when it develops.

Two, unlike canon, I'm going to develop Sakura as well as Hinata. Both will be important for this story, especially after the time-skip.

And three, there is one major difference between canon and this AU, and it's Mikoto. In canon, both Sasuke and Naruto have no parents or anyone to see whether Kakashi is doing his job to train his genin team. Sakura's parents are highly likely civilians, and civilians have no knowledge to know whether their children are being trained properly. Mikoto is a trained kunoichi with a rank of Jounin, so she does know.

So rest assures, I'm not going to be following canon precisely. With Mikoto alive, there will be differences, especially when it concerns her two sons. ;p

2) Given Naruto was raised by Mikoto during the Academy years, I really can't see him develop the Sexy no Jutsu, thus his encounter with Konohamaru is different with how Naruto defeated Ebisu. Yes, I know it sounded Naruto defeated Ebisu too easily with just a super wedgie, but knowing Ebisu's personality, he is the type to underestimate Naruto, thus as Mikoto said, the man was caught unaware. So as much as I think the Wedgie no Jutsu can be use in Naruto's arsenal, it is likely this would be a one-time event. XD

3) 'Fisshukin' means 'Gold Fish'. Since canon had not ever named the bridge Team 7 usual meet at, I'd decided to give it a name.

Editted in 4/29/10: Thanks goes to iPanda for correcting me regarding the Japanese word for 'goldfish', which is 'kingyo'. :)

4) Added in 4/27/10: Okay, now. If anyone wants to become my betareader for "Matriarch", I have two criterias for candidates. 1) You have to know English spelling and grammar. I just can't accept anyone doing corrections using a spelling and grammar checkers. I really need someone who knows. 2) You have to have the time to do it. If you're busy with school and other things in life with little free time, you shouldn't volunteer to become anyone's betareader. Period. My current betareader for "Unexpected Love" is very busy with school, so I'm not going to place "Matriarch" on top of his already full schedule. Another person volunteered, but after I gave him "Chapter 6" to beta, he never bothers to do the job and I have not heard from him in over a month.

So please, be honest when you volunteer to become a betareader. If you volunteer and then suddenly backtracked without telling the writer, it's rude. :(

oooooooooooooooooo

Next Chapter: Judgment of the Matriarch


	8. Chapter 7: Judgment of the Matriarch

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :) No copying of my story is allowed. That's stealing if anyone copies my story into his/her own story. Write your own story without taking others' works! (angry glare)

A/N: Once more this chapter has not been beta-read, etc., so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes.

**If sentences are all bold like this, this means it's being told in 1****st**** person in a book.**

Spoken sentences in brackets ("I told you so.") means the person is speaking through a radio.

Story rating: M (R)(for adult themes, sexual and blood)  
Written: April 2009 - Present

Summary: By surviving the Uchiha Massacre, one woman changed the path of destiny.

* * *

The Matriarch of Destiny  
Chapter 7 – Judgment of the Matriarch  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

("This is Cyclops. Are you three in your positions?")

("Night Storm here. I'm in position.")

("This is Blossom. I'm in position.")

("Kitsune here. I'm in position.") … ("Can we kill it?")

("That'll make our mission a failure, Dobe.")

("Not to mention having the Fire Daimyo's wife wanting our hides! Listen to Night Storm, baka!")

("Aw, man! Can we kill it just once? It has nine lives anyway.")

("As much as I understand your frustrations, Kitsune, killing the target will not help the mission, especially given it only has one life.") … ("When you three are ready, commence operation.")

("HAI!") Three voices spoke as one.

Suddenly the operation was underway as Kitsune sprang into action. The sounds of a small, startled animal was heard, and soon after, Night Storm joined in the fray as he too frightened the animal toward a particular area. It was not long before the animal was startled again and gave a huge hiss.

("She got away from me! She's heading back toward you, Night Storm, Kitsune!")

("That does it! I'm not going to stand to experience the same thing as the last two times! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!")

Not long after, feline hisses and meows were heard in the forest. It was clear from the sounds, that the target has been captured.

Sprinting toward the animal sounds, Night Storm and Blossom came toward their blonde teammate, who held up a fishing net with an angry cat inside while several Kage Bunshin were around him. "Mission accomplished!" he grinned. "This cat is bagged once again!" The boy turned to give an evil grin at his captive, close-up. "You're caught once more, Tora!"

Tora's response was to rapidly slash at her tormentor's face, causing him to cry out in pain. Yet before the feline could hit the dirt upon the blond releasing him, the sole female member of the team caught her.

Naruto and his clones glowered at the tubby cat, which was out of the net and now calm in Sakura's arms. "I still say we should kill it."

Feminine green eyes rolled heavenward. "Will you ever stop with the notion of killing Tora? It's not her fault for being good in outmaneuver you at times."

Inner Sakura has a different idea. "KILL IT! KILL IT NOW! THESE CAT RETRIEVAL MISSIONS ARE PATHETHIC! SHA!"

After letting out a breath over his teammates' antics, Sasuke pressed the microphone on his radio collar. "Night Storm to Cyclops. Mission accomplished," he reported at the same time Naruto dispelled his clones.

("Good work, you three. Let us return to the Tower now. Cyclops out.")

As the three genin began the trek back to the Hokage Tower to return a reluctant Tora to her owner, a frustrated Naruto spoke to his adopted brother as the pair trailed Sakura several paces back and out of hearing range. "Want to bet that Kakashi-sensei will not bother training us today… Again?"

Sasuke frowned. "I'm not taking a sucker's bet. I wonder whether we can convince the Hokage to allow Mother to be our sensei instead."

"Yeah," the whiskered boy agreed. "Least Kaa-chan will teach us something."

The Uchiha Heir nodded in concurrence. Since they had became a team two weeks ago, all they ever done were doing these worthless D-rank missions. There was no doubt some of them required good teamwork in order to get the job done, like this Tora Retrieval mission, which was the third time for the team. Yet at the same time, was it Hatake's job to **train** his team to become better? The silver-haired jounin has yet to give any training exercises what so ever. It made Sasuke wondered how the Copy Nin ever was allowed to become a jounin-sensei to begin with.

* * *

Sakura sighed. As she walked through the throng of people in the village's business district, the girl wondered what were all these D-rank missions about. Thus far, all her team done was chores that most civilians could handle on their own. Some no doubt required teamwork and other skills, like the Tora Retrieval mission done for the third time yesterday, but it was driving her crazy to think that these missions were so important to hire genin ninjas to accomplish.

Sighing again, the pinkette's thoughts led to her personal goal in snaring Sasuke. The boy kept shooting down her advances, making her think maybe he was gay or not interested in a relationship for the time being. It was frustrating. Before graduation, she had dreamt of being on the Uchiha heir's team, allowing her the opportunities to snag the boy for herself without Ino and the rest of the fangirls interfering. Yet even with her finally on Sasuke's team, she still was going nowhere with catching her prize, no more than she was able at the Academy.

"_Well, it does not matter!"_ Sakura mentally said. _"I'll keep trying, until I win!"_

"SHA! THAT'S RIGHT!" encouraged Inner Sakura. "WE'LL BAG SASUKE-KUN YET!"

The rookie kunoichi was so self-absorbed on herself that she didn't notice approaching a particular flower shop. That was until a familiar condensing voice snapped her out of it. "Well, well. I haven't seen you, since we've been placed in our teams two weeks ago, Forehead."

Jade eyes quickly locked onto the blond girl wearing her purple kunoichi outfit with a work apron over it. Sakura quickly matched the smirking expression. "Well, well, if it isn't Ino-pig. Having fun being part of the new Ino-Shika-Cho team?"

Holding a broom to sweep in front of her family store, Ino scowled a bit. "They may not be much, but least they're good teammates. Just I once more wish I was the one place on Team 7 and not you."

Sakura's smirk broadened with a hand on a hip. "Oh, just too bad, Piggy. I'm the one who will get Sasuke-kun, since I'm on his team."

Light-blue eyes blinked. "Are you saying you haven't **yet** gotten Sasuke-kun?"

Her eyes going wide, Sakura realized her mistake, but she did not had any time to make a comeback when her rival pounced with a wicked grin. "Oh, ho! There's still a chance for me yet! Face it, Forehead! If you have not gotten Sasuke-kun in two weeks of being the only female teammate on his team, you are not likely to get him ever!"

"Not true!" Haruno fought back. "Just you wait! I'll nab him! Even if I have to go to his home to do so, I'll do it!" With that said, Team 7's kunoichi walked away, heading home with determination to accomplish her goal.

Yet as the pinkette strolled away, she was not aware of the knowing smirk on Ino's face. _"Go to his home? Boy, Forehead, have you forgotten how much Mikoto-sama does not want us near her home?"_

As a member of the Sasuke Fan Club, the Yamanaka remembered well how the Uchiha Matriarch had dealt with all the girls, whom stalked Sasuke and the area around the Uchiha residence. The female clan head had caught each of them, no matter how much each girl had tried to hide, and told each in a 'kind and sweet' way to not ever bother her son within a certain distance from the Uchiha compound. All the girls of the club had immediately heeded Mikoto-sama's words, for they did not want to find out what the older kunoichi would do to them the next time any of them were caught.

As Ino returned to sweeping the area in front of her family business, she hummed happily, thinking Sakura would likely meet a terrible fate for breaking Uchiha-sama's rule. Oh, the blonde knew her rival would not die, but nevertheless, it was clear Sasuke's mother has a low tolerance for fan girls bothering her son.

* * *

Fidgeting with nerves, Sakura wondered whether this was a good idea. She had boasted to Ino yesterday that she would nab Sasuke-kun even if she had to go to his home to do it. Yet, after she had gotten home, her memories reminded her how much Mikoto-sama did not tolerate any of Sasuke's fangirls near the Uchiha compound. Gah! Why did her emotions mostly lead her before her rational side kicks in?

Now, here she was with Naruto and Sasuke again after yet another day of having done D-ranks. As usual, their sensei high-tailed out of the Hokage Tower, via Shunshin, once the final mission was completed without giving any of his students a chance to speak to him. Of course, this irked her two teammates with Naruto grumbling about lazy, good-for-nothing, perverted jounins, while Sasuke simply grunted in agreement with narrowed eyes. They kept their angry expressions as the three of them left the Mission Office and walked down the hallway toward the outside staircase, which led down to street level.

After cracking a yawn, Naruto stretched his arms up. "Man, I'll be glad to get home, eat, and do some good training before sleeping like a rock."

"You always sleep like a rock," quipped Sasuke. "Yet rocks don't snore."

"Hey! I don't snore!" countered the blonde with an irritated face.

One corner of the Uchiha Heir's lips curled upward. "Yes, you do, or have you forgotten that audio tape Mother produced of you snoring loudly? Thank, Kami, we have privacy seals placed in each bedroom, or else Mother and I would had endured your loud racket." Sakura giggled as Naruto scowled with crossed arms.

After watching Sakura cast her eyes downward again, Naruto locked eyes with his adopted brother before gesturing with his head toward their female teammate. Sasuke sighed and nodded in understanding in what he needed to do.

"Sakura," Sasuke began as they reached and stopped at the open exit where the staircase began. "Mother told us to tell you that you're invited to dinner at our home tonight. After nearly a month together as a team, she wants to meet you."

Sakura blinked, blinked, and blinked some more as her brain wrapped around what she just heard. When she finally spoke, her mouth was not in synch with her mind. "You… I… Dinner…"

Inner Sakura, however, was cheering with fingers in victory signs. "OH, YEAH! DINNER WITH SASUKE-KUN! SCOOOORE!"

Sasuke sighed in frustration at Sakura's babbling. "Yes, Sakura, you are invited to dinner by my mother." His shoulders produced a shrug. "That is unless you don't want to come."

"Of course, I'll come!" the pinkette immediately nearly shouted, her brain back to working order thanks to the shock of Sasuke thinking she was going to refuse Mikoto-sama's invitation. "I'll be there dress-up and all!"

"Whoa, calm down, Sakura-chan," Naruto held up his hands in a calming gesture. "This is just dinner. Kaa-chan said you could come in what you're wearing now. No need to get fancy."

Nodding rapidly in excitement, Sakura grinned happily. "Of course, of course. I'll be there at six." She brushed past the boys to descend the stairs. "I'll see you then, guys!" she called over her shoulders.

As Mikoto's two sons observed their female teammate reached the bottom and headed toward the courtyard's exit, Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Do you think Kaa-chan's plan will work?"

"It better," Sasuke replied, "or else, she will keep her promise to find another teammate for us."

With that said, the young Uchiha used the Shunshin to teleported back home. A moment later, his adopted brother followed suit.

* * *

Opening the front gate, Mikoto grinned in greeting to the pink-haired girl she was expecting. "Evening to you, Sakura."

"Evening to you too, Uchiha-sama," Sakura replied back with a grin and a short courteous bow. Her green eyes took in the older woman's appearance in housewife's clothes and an apron. It was not what she expected to see regarding the beautiful clan head, but since this was just a regular informal dinner, the girl understood Sasuke's mother would wear something ordinary.

Remembering what she was holding in her hands, Team 7's kunoichi presented a wrapped package to the matriarch. "My mom baked some cookies for dessert."

"Thank you, Sakura," Mikoto said as she took the offering. "That's kind of you." With a gesture of her hand, she guided the young girl across the threshold before closing the gate and escorting the rest of the way to the kitchen inside. There, Sakura met her two teammates already seated across from each other at the kitchen's low table.

"Hi there, Sakura-chan!" greeted Naruto with his typical wide grin.

"Evening to you, Sakura," followed Sasuke politely.

"Good evening, Sasuke-kun!" she chirped happily before giving a simple grin to the other boy. "You too, Naruto."

Mikoto hand-gestured toward the cushion right in front of Sakura. "Please, sit down, Sakura. I'll just put away your cookies to be consume after dinner." As the Uchiha Head placed away the cookies, the pinkette knelt on the cushion and spread her legs to sit down as all women did compared to the men, who sat cross-legged.

After the brunette older woman returned, she sat down and prepared rice in bowls for everyone. Once everything was set, all said "Itadakimasu" before they began eating the prepared dinner.

Silence reigned in the room for a few minutes, until Mikoto decided to break it. As much as her sons told her that Sakura was quite a chatterbox at times, it seemed the girl was shy in her presence.

"Sakura, from what I know, your parents own a bookstore, correct?"

"That's right, Uchiha-sama," Sakura grinned, grateful for Sasuke's mom to break the ice. "They've first opened it a few years before I was born."

"You do not have to be so formal, Sakura," Mikoto reassured with a small grin. "You can call me by my given name."

"Of course… Mikoto-sama," the young kunoichi replied, feeling not entirely comfortable with the idea just yet.

Mikoto returned back to the topic at hand. "So, do your family's bookstore carry a lot of titles?"

After swallowing some rice she had placed in her mouth, Sakura answered. "We carry many varieties, although not as much as the library though," she chuckled, causing Naruto to snickered, Mikoto to smiled amusingly, and Sasuke to simply grunted. "Yet given my mother's morals, we do not sell any of the mature titles though."

Naruto picked up what his teammate was talking about. "You're talking about those books Kakashi-sensei reads?"

Sakura closed her eyes as she did her best to control her right eye from ticking so much. "Yes, **those** books we do not sell. We do not sell any **porn**, Naruto." She went back to eating her rice, trying to calm herself down.

The Uchiha Matriarch held back a chuckle as her eyes held firm with green ones. "From what I know of the books Kakashi reads, those are big best sellers. I do give your parents credit for sticking by their morals in the face of making a lot of money though."

This time, the pinkette sighed. "It's my mother's idea though. Despite my father many times begged Mom to purchase the series to sell, my mother kept firm. I personally had not ever laid eyes on any of those books, until I saw the ones Kakashi-sensei reads in public."

Mikoto half frowned and half grinned in amusement. "Well, I personally think he shouldn't be reading those books in public." She closed her eyes and let out a breath in disapproval. "Yet, your teacher has his vices like everyone else. Although, his habits are more tame compare to the vices of some jounins I'm aware in the village."

Opening her eyes to eat some more rice, the brunette woman immediately came aware of three sets of curious eyes blinking at her. The Uchiha head shook her head and chuckled, knowing what the three 12-year-olds were non-verbally asking. "You'll meet these people eventually. Trust me, when you do, you'll understand Kakashi-kun's reading of porn is indeed tame despite the morals of reading such material in public." With that said, Mikoto returned to consuming her meal, inwardly giggling from the three wondering expressions on what other jounins could possibly be worst than Kakashi.

So for the rest of the meal, conversation went back and forth. It was mostly between Mikoto and Sakura with Naruto occasionally joining. Sasuke was mostly silent and only joined, when he was asked a question. He was grateful that his kunoichi teammate did not badger him with questions that would be embarrassing, figuring the company of his mother kept Sakura to be polite.

The Uchiha Matriarch has to admit that she was impressed with Sakura's knowledge. Her records had shown her academics scores were high, but it was one thing to pass a written test, it was another to actually recall such information in details to another person. Mikoto saw this girl has potential, but it remained to be seen on what she has in mind next for the young lady.

"Those were great cookies, Sakura-chan," praised Naruto as he finished off a sixth cookie.

"It's okay," added Sasuke as he finished eating just one cookie prior to wiping his hands on a napkin to get rid of the crumbs on his fingers.

"Thanks, Naruto, Sasuke-kun," Sakura glowed. Inside however,, she was disappointed to learn Sasuke did not like sweets overall. He had taken just one cookie, showing he did not mind eating them though.

Finishing off her own few cookies and downing them with her tea, Mikoto simply smiled. "They were good. Thank you for bringing them, Sakura." The pinkette once more beamed with pride, especially given the compliment came from the Head of the Uchiha Clan.

Getting up on his feet, Naruto stretched his arms over his head. "Now that I have a full stomach, it's time to get in some training!"

Sasuke stood up as well with a small smirk on his face. "You got that right, Dobe." His blond brother smiled widely, knowing how much they agreed when it came to improving their shinobi skills.

Sakura blinked in astonishment. "It's nearly dark now," she pointed to the kitchen window, showing sunlight getting dimmer as the sun drew closer to the horizon.

Mikoto grinned reassuringly at the girl. "It's okay. We have outside lights. Besides, as shinobi, one should know how to use your skills at night. Very rarely combat takes place after sunset, but when they do occur, they tend to tax one's abilities to their limits. Those with good night-time senses, like smell, hearing, and sight, are the ones to be careful when it comes to night fighting."

Knowing the more experienced kunoichi was right, Team 7's female ninja simply nodded in understanding. Besides, not only would the cover of darkness test one's fighting skills but also one's stealth abilities as well. It was known that traveling at night was the best to try avoid enemy watchdogs and other threats.

As Sasuke joined Naruto as they left the kitchen to the outside training area around the swimming pond/pool, Sakura had stayed behind to offer Mikoto help with cleaning up, but the former housewife reassured the teenager she could take care of things. So with a slight shooing motion, the 39-year-old mother encouraged Sakura to follow the boys.

After 15 minutes, any leftovers were placed in the refrigerator, and the dishwater was doing its job. Only then did Mikoto wiped her hands on her apron and left the kitchen to the living room across the hall, and from there, she proceeded outside. She saw Sakura standing on the wooden walkway as she watched Sasuke and Naruto spar with taijutsu only. The older kunoichi joined the younger one in observing the fight, and given the boys' current skill level, it was not surprising that they would exchange blows high in the air at times.

Mikoto grinned a bit upon seeing Sakura's awe expression before eying her two sons again. "Have you ever saw Naruto and Sasuke train, Sakura?"

The pink-haired girl shook her head. "Not like this. Sometimes, we will meet in Training Ground 7, and when I arrive, they would be doing minor warm-ups or some ninjutsu training, like Naruto using twenty Kage Bunshin to finish cutting a leaf with his wind chakra. He's making great progress from what I saw."

The Uchiha Matriarch was glad her blond child was heeding her words to not make so many Kage Bunshin while training. As much as Naruto has the charka capacity to make hundreds of clones, the memories and mental stress from the duplicates would have been overwhelming for him to handle, causing him to collapse. They had found this out the first time he had used this training technique at home with close to two hundred Kage Bunshin. From that point onward, she had recommended twenty clones maximum in order for him to still remain standing and conscious after dispelling the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.

"What about you, Sakura?" Mikoto asked. "Have you done any special training?"

All she heard was silence, and once she eyed the rookie kunoichi, the clan head saw she was looking down with almost a glum look. "I… I… " Sakura swallowed and spoke the truth. "I have not been getting any training at all, Mikoto-sama."

Mikoto raised an eyebrow, even though she already knew this from what her sons told her. "Oh? Why have you not been training?"

Raising her head to face the older woman, Sakura felt shame that she was not likely good enough for the Sasuke's mother. "Kakashi-sensei has not taught me anything yet. Every time I, Sasuke, or Naruto tried to talk to him after doing a mission, he just disappears using that Shunshin jutsu."

Doing her best not to show her feelings, the Uchiha Matriarch felt disappointment and anger at Kakashi's actions even more. She knew from Naruto and Sasuke about the jounin's laziness in training them, but to hear Sakura's lowly voice, it was clear the young girl knew how weak she was compare to her sons. This made Mikoto saw Kakashi even in a lower light.

Inwardly sighing, Mikoto had a good hunch to why Kakashi was acting this way and would want to teach him a lesson. However, the first thing she needed to do was regarding this young kunoichi next to her.

Giving a reassuring grin, the brunette placed a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Well, how about getting your first lesson right here?"

Sakura whipped her head up in surprise so fast that Mikoto swore the teenager might end up with a case of whiplash. "Really?" the 12-year-old asked in amazement.

After giving a nod as an answer, Mikoto faced her dueling children. "Boys!"

Sasuke and Naruto stopped at the same time and turned their heads toward their parent. "Yes, Kaa-chan/Mother?" both spoke in unison; causing Sakura to clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress a giggle while Mikoto chuckled.

"Naruto, spar with Sakura," the female jounin ordered.

Team 7's sole female member went wide-eyed at this. "But… But… I'm no match for Naruto."

Naruto gave an encouraging grin. "It's a just a spar, Sakura-chan. It's not like we're in a fight to the death. Just give me your best shot."

Despite his words, Sakura was not so sure about this. After a gentle nudge from Mikoto's hand to push her forward, the pinkette stepped off the wooden walkway onto the grassy field and faced her blond teammate, who once more gave her a grin of encouragement.

"Okay now," the Uchiha Head said seriously. "Naruto, you are only to use taijutsu and stay on the ground. You can use a kunai to defend yourself against thrown projectiles. Sakura, you can use anything in your arsenal. This spar will begin, when you make the first move."

Once more, the only child of the Haruno family was not sure whether she could even win this match, despite Naruto was given a major disadvantage. Yet, after swallowing hard, the young girl knew it would be an insult to Mikoto-sama, if she did not do her best.

With determination, Sakura quickly began with several thrown kunai at her opponent before immediately followed by running toward him to hope catch him at the moment he was busy defending against the projectiles. Yet, she was surprised, even though she shouldn't, by Naruto whipping out a kunai so fast and deflecting the airborne kunai just a fast that by the time she reached him to aim a punch, he was now ready to defend against her follow-up attack.

Naruto simply blocked her thrown fist before giving a light kick in her stomach, sending her flying to the ground onto her back. Sakura winced a bit from the hit, but she got up, her resolve not to loose.

Again, she ran toward him, but this time, her hands flew into several seals. The result was that her body seemed to disappear with the wind blowing cherry blossoms around the blond boy.

As for the whiskered boy, he knew this had to be a genjutsu. He may not be good as Sasuke or even Kaa-chan when it came to art of illusions, but Naruto could sense Sakura had cast only a low level technique that even he could detect. So he waited until the right moment before slapping his hands together in the well-known cancellation seal. "Kai!"

Sakura's form shimmered into view right next to her opponent. Naruto immediately grabbed the arm that has a kunai about to approach his throat, and before the pinkette could do or say anything, he used his strength to swing her in an arc prior to letting her go to send her sailing into the swimming pond/pool with a large splash.

Surfacing from the water, Sakura smoothed back her long wet mane before pointing an accusing finger at a grinning Uzumaki. "That's cheating, Naruto!" she shouted as she dog paddled to keep her head above the waterline.

"On the contrary, Sakura," Mikoto spoke out, "it was within the rules for him to throw you into the pool. If this had been a mission and Naruto was fighting someone who did not know how to water-walk, he would have a major advantage over his opponent by throwing the person into a large body of water."

To verify what his guardian was referring, Naruto ran over the water and quickly knelt to pose a kunai at the throat of a startled Sakura, who couldn't defend herself while her hands and feet were busy keeping her afloat. "You're dead, Sakura-chan," he declared. After a moment or two, he withdrew the weapon and gave his teammate a gentle smile before walking back to dry land.

"I don't understand," said Sakura as she swam toward shore, feeling stunned and humiliated she lost to Naruto, even though she knew he was better skilled than her. "What's the whole point of this?"

As the young kunoichi finally came close enough in order for her feet to touch the pool's bottom thus allowing her to stand up, Mikoto came forward to stand at the pond's rim to gaze down at the soaked girl. "This was all planned, and the boys were aware of it. I'd invited you to dinner tonight in order to put together this spar between you and Naruto. The whole point is to convey to you that **you** need training to improve yourself as a kunoichi, thus you have to stop chasing my son."

Emerald eyes went wide as they became moist from the sudden emotions flooding her. She gazed at Sasuke, who stood there with his usual air of indifference. "But… But…" she choked, unable to form a sentence.

Mikoto sighed. "Sakura," she said to regain the teen's attention. "I'm not saying to stop any feelings you have for Sasuke. I'm saying that you need to focus on becoming stronger and better, not just for your sake, but also for the sake of the entire team. You're the weakest link, and as this spar had demonstrated, you're quite vulnerable. Sasuke and Naruto are strong enough for genins as they currently are, but this does not mean they or your sensei will be there always to help protect you. If you do not take your training seriously and become stronger, you will die. That is the way in the shinobi world."

Looking down, Sakura sniffed as few tears rolled down her cheeks. Mikoto-sama was right. She was pathetic when compared to Naruto or Sasuke. Not only she could get herself killed, but she was a potential danger to her team as well.

"But…" she choked, allowing her tears to flow freely now. "But how can I become stronger if no one teaches me?" Sakura raised her head to face the Uchiha Matriarch squared in the eyes. "My parents are not shinobi! I don't know what I need to do to become stronger! How can I improve myself, if no one shows me the way?"

Closing her eyes for a moment, Mikoto seethed inside, knowing who really was at fault for this. "You're right, Sakura," she said with sympathy as her eyelids slid up. "Believe me, I'm going to deal with your current sensei in regards to not bothering teaching his students anything after two weeks since you became a team."

Her lips then flowed into a reassuring grin. "You have great potential, young lady," the brunette mother claimed, causing Sakura's eyes to go wide as she gasped at the compliment. "You just need to train to draw out that potential. Believe me, you'll go far, if you put that smart mind to use."

"R-R-Really?" Sakura stuttered, still stunned that the head of a well-known clan was telling her she has aptitude as a kunoichi.

Mikoto nodded. "Your knowledge is vast for your age, and your chakra control is superb from what I read in your records. If you hone your skills, you will likely even one day surpass Konoha's greatest kunoichi."

Sakura sucked in another gasp. She knew which kunoichi Mikoto-sama was referring. To even think of surpassing **her** was beyond anything she ever imagined.

The heartening grin on the matriarch's face dwindled a bit. "That is if you truly focus on your training and stop pestering Sasuke for dates, young lady. By now, after 4 years, you should already know that he has no interest in dating any girls. He appreciates you being his friend than a girl out to score with him."

Mikoto's words made the teenage kunoichi felt demoralized. She looked at Sasuke, who appeared indifferent as he always had. Yet what he said next surprised her.

"Mother is right, Sakura," sighed Sasuke. "I will not be your boyfriend, but I can be your friend. As a member of Team 7, you should focus on training to become strong in order to help the team."

"Yeah, you can do it, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned at her. "As Kaa-chan said, you're smart! If you train hard as you do with doing those written tests, you can become a great kunoichi! You can be a great asset to the team!"

Mikoto grinned at her adopted child before gazing at Team 7's female member. The small grin on the girl's face and the shine in her eyes told the Uchiah Matriarch that Naruto's words had affected her.

Sakura nearly broke down in tears, but she controlled herself to let out a few escaped. Sasuke wouldn't mind being a friend to her, and even though she would not gain his heart, at least she would have his friendship. Furthermore, Naruto's words of encouragement made her realized that Mikoto-sama was right. She couldn't just stand aside and let Naruto and Sasuke did all the work. She too was a shinobi and like Hell was she going to remain weak forever!

"THAT'S RIGHT!" screamed Inner Sakura. "WE'RE NOT GOING TO BECOME PUSHOVERS! SHANNAROOOOO!"

Brushing aside her tears, Sakura gave a determine grin. "You're right, Naruto, Sasuke-kun. I want to help you, and to do it, I need to become stronger. I promised you and Mikoto-sama that I'll train the best I can! I won't let you down!"

"Alright!" yelled Naruto with a pumped fist. Meantime, Sasuke gave a small smirk and nod to his female teammate in approval.

"That's good to hear, Sakura," Mikoto voiced her own approval of the girl's change. If she kept her promise and work hard has she claimed, Sakura definitely would travel far in her career.

Just then the pinkette let out a sneeze, bringing out the 39-year-old mother's instincts. "Let's get you inside, young lady," she said, gesturing for the soaked girl to get out of the pool before gently pushing her toward the house. "I'll have your clothes dry in the dryer. You can take a warm bath in the meantime, and when you finish, I'll have a nice warm robe that'll fit you." Mikoto looked over her shoulder at her sons. "Boys, continue your training, while I look after your teammate."

Sakura nodded and thanked the older woman. The sun was nearly setting now, and being totally wet in soaked clothes was not comfortable, especially with the temperature beginning to drop. A nice warm bath sounded just what she needed now to prevent from catching a cold.

Just as the two females stepped onto the wooden walkway, Naruto spoke out. "Kaa-chan?" They stopped to look back at the blond boy. "What exactly are you going to do about Kakashi-sensei? You said you're going to deal with him."

A small, sly smirk slowly spread across the Uchiha Clan Head's face. A smirk that sent shivers down the spines of the three genin. "I have a plan to deal with him. I'm sorry, but this time, you boys will be out of the loop in order for this plan to work. Trust me, he will learn his lesson, or else, I'll personally see to it that the three of you are assigned another sensei." With that said, her expression went back to a kind one as she escorted Sakura inside toward the main bath, leaving Sasuke and Naruto to their training.

Yet, Mikoto's words made the three young shinobi wondered what was in store for their jounin-sensei. As much as they loved to see the man get what he deserved, they hoped it did not end with the silver-haired man staying in the hospital for a long period of time or worst, losing a limb or two.

* * *

Naruto frowned. "This is the most boring C-rank I ever been on!"

"Dobe, this is our **first** C-rank mission," Sasuke pointed out. "How can you say it's the **most** boring, when we have not ever been on a C-rank before? Least we're out of the village. Something you always said you wanted to do one day."

"Yeah, Naruto," berated Sakura. "Despite we're just delivering a small package to the capital, I'm excited, due that this is the first time **I** ever been outside the village. I can't see why you're bored."

"Maybe because this C-rank is really just a D-rank chore?" whined the whiskered genin.

Sakura's left eyebrow ticked a few times, before she faced her complaining teammate. "If you remember, Naruto, any D-rank style mission outside the village is given a C-rank status due being outside the defenses of the village! Just stop your whining! Gee, we're on our first ever C-rank, and you have been complaining none stop ever since we left Konoha!"

"Sakura," began Kakashi, "I appreciate you teaching Naruto a lesson, but you do not need to shout so loud in my ear."

Having forgotten where she was, namely riding piggy-back on her sensei's back, Sakura blushed sheepishly as she turned her head back to the silver-haired man. "Sorry, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi sighed. It had came as a surprise to the entire team, when the Sandiame had given them a small package, which could fit in the pocket of a chuunin/jounin green flack jacket, and told them to deliver it to a family in the capital. The client paid for a C-rank delivery, and since it was just a trip to Fire Country's capital city, the Third had thought Team 7 could gain some experience doing this simple C-rank.

Not that Kakashi complained, since he had shrugged and agreed that the mission would gain the team some experience. Just he had realized at the main gate that he had forgotten Sakura did not know how to tree-climb, which was essential in learning how to tree-hop. Thus instead of slowing the entire team down, the jounin opted to carry Sakura for the entire trip knowing Sasuke and Naruto could tree-hop. Least the journey would last just a few hours using the shinobi method of transportation instead of mere walking.

Yet for Hatake, he knew he better start training his genin soon. The boys were very skilled for their age, thanks to their mother, but their lone kunoichi has a major disadvantage of being so green that it threw the team dynamics out of balance. He knew there was no way Sakura would ever catch up skill-wise to Naruto and Sasuke, but Kakashi figured it was best to get the girl to tree-climb, tree-hop, and water-walk for her sake and safety on future missions.

Suddenly, all his thoughts about his students' training were cast aside as Kakashi's instincts warned him to dodge a hail of kunai from above. Ignoring Sakura's shriek, the 26-year-old jounin did just that and landed on the forest floor below. He was relieved Naruto and Sasuke also out-maneuvered the attack and landed on either side of him.

Looking up in the direction of the attack, Team 7 saw five individuals landed on the tree branches in front of them. They were all covered in black cloaks with hoods, so their faces were hidden. Yet it was easy to see that two of the five strangers were adults, while the other three were smaller in height, thus they were likely teenagers. It was possible this was a genin team being led by a jounin, but it did not explain the extra adult.

Before anyone on Team 7 could say anything, one of the cloaked adults pointed a gloved finger at the Konoha group. "Go!" was all the person said, the voice indicating it was a woman. She and the rest of her group swiftly jumped down and began attacking, causing Kakashi to separate from Naruto and Sasuke due to having the two adult attackers on his tail.

Knowing he couldn't fight with Sakura on his back, Kakashi quickly did a Shunshin, appearing next to a large tree. "Sakura," he said as he lowered the kunoichi down on her feet, "stay here and out of sight. Sasuke, Naruto, and I will deal with this."

"Okay, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura replied with some fear in her voice. This was the type situation Mikoto-sama explained to her two days ago might happened, and now it was happening, the pink-haired girl felt totally useless and vulnerable.

After giving an encouraging eye-grin to his female charge, the elite jounin ran off in the direction of the sounds of battle, where he met up with the two adult enemies and began to engage them.

* * *

When the whole fight had begun, Naruto ended up with an opponent that that was mostly using taijutsu, thus why he, at first, tried to defeat the guy using Kaa-chan's taijutsu style. Yet, his style did not seem to faze this attacker. Only then did the blond take it up a notch to start using ninjutsu.

Nearby, Sasuke, in the meanwhile, also had engaged in taijutsu with one of the foes. Yet the fighting style of this enemy seemed familiar to the boy, yet he couldn't place a finger as to why. A few minutes into the battle, the Uchiha heir gotten his first real clue, when the stranger simply jabbed several points on his arms, catching him unaware.

After giving a grunt, the dark-haired genin leaped backwards to put some distance between him and his hooded rival. His arms felt like sharp, hot needles pricking him along the entire length. He now remembered someone else who had done a similar thing to him, but the results were less painful.

"Sasuke!" cried out Naruto, catching the brunet's attention prior to his blond 'brother' landing besides him with two dozens Kage Bunshin engaging Sasuke's adversary. Dark eyes quickly noticed another two-dozen Narutos were keeping Naruto's challenger busy, even though it was clear the hooded enemy was quickly dispersing the clones fast. "Are you okay?"

Sasuke shook his head. "This guy did something to my arms. They feel wrong." Deciding to use a fire jutsu at his attacker, he began to mold chakra and forming the hand signs, but he quickly stopped with wide eyes. "My chakra…. I can't feel it in my arms!"

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled before making another four-dozen clones, realizing the two foes were nearly done with the first batch of Kage Bunshin. With the fresh batch engaging the two enemies, the whiskered boy addressed the issue at hand. "How can you no longer feel chakra in your arms?"

The Heir of the Uchiha frowned. "Remember the times we sparred with Hinata at the Academy? This is exactly like her Jyuken, which is the ability to close a shinobi's tenketsu points, rendering the person unable to mold chakra." Onyx eyes narrowed at the hooded foe. "He's a Hyuuga."

Before Naruto could say anything, the hooded fighter snorted. "This is correct," he said, before jumping away to a branch above to look down at Sasuke and Naruto. "It's Fate that you will eventually loose to me, Uchiha, as well as that pathetic looser next to you. I still do not see what Hinata-sama saw in befriending such a looser."

Both boys immediately knew who they were dealing with now, especially Naruto, whose left eye began to tick in anger. Yet the voice of the other enemy spoke up.

"I disagree!" Sasuke and Naruto whipped their heads to the opposite side to see the second hooded foe also had taken to the trees. "Their hard work over the years had made their Fires of Youth a blazing inferno!" The foe clenched one of his bandaged hands. "It's quite an honor to be facing them one-on-one!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, while Naruto and his clones all were baffled to what in blazes was going on here?

* * *

Naruto's question was exactly on Kakashi's mind. Within only a minute or two into his fight, the silver-haired shinobi knew immediately who was one of his opponents. He recognized that taijutsu form anywhere.

Furthermore, when he managed to get in close to the other foe after she had swung a katana at him, he was shocked to see two Sharingan eyes looking back at him. Once more, he knew whom he was facing. Why was she doing this?

His brain was doing circles as he did his best to dodge the sword strikes, which was coming at him at amazing speeds. He thanked Kami that Obito's eye gave him the ability to avoid being hit. Yet, even he knew he was no match against a true wielder of the Uchiha bloodline, especially one who was an experienced ninja.

Just then, a loud, frightful feminine scream was heard, making Kakashi's eyes to go wide. "SAKURA!"

Ignoring his two enemies, he turned with amazing speed toward the area where he heard his kunoichi student. The elite jounin ran into a small clearing to suddenly see Naruto and Sasuke facing two of the other hooded strangers. It was clear to Kakashi that the boys also had heard Sakura's fearful cry and was about to go to her aid, when the two foes blocked their path.

Before the Copy Nin could even addressed the situation, the two adult enemies suddenly blurred next to their two younger members. The four hooded strangers formed a wall between the Konoha male shinobi and their kunoichi teammate.

"You're not allow to interfere, until it is over," said the female adult.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, while Sasuke and Naruto went wide-eyed in shock over hearing the voice. It just couldn't be who they thought it was. Yet there was no mistaking that voice. The question on the boys' minds was a simple _"Why?"_

* * *

Sakura ran. She ran as fast as her two legs could muster. Yet even she knew it was not enough to outrun the hooded girl out to get her. She just couldn't understand why she was being targeted.

Just several minutes ago, she had been safe after Kakashi-sensei had left. That feeling of security was short-lived, for only three minutes had passed before a hail of kunai poured out of the sky right at her. She had managed to get out of the way, but not without a few shallow cuts to her arms and legs.

Then her opponent landed before her with an opened scroll in hands. Sakura couldn't see the other person's face, but when the enemy said, "I'm sorry I have to do this," the pinkette knew from the voice that she was dealing with another kunoichi around her age. After that, the other girl attacked her with more thrown projectiles summoned out of the scroll.

Knowing she would become a dead pincushion by staying still, Sakura had tried going on the offense by attacking the other girl head-on with the taijutsu form she learned at the Academy. Yet, the hooded kunoichi easily brushed off her attack by blocking and dodging before kicking her in the stomach to send her flying backwards several meters. Only then, did Haruno know she was no match and decided to flee. However, retreating did not stop the enemy from finding her, even when the pink-haired girl used Henge or Kawarimi in hope to confuse her pursuer.

Now with cuts all over her body and feeling like she already ran a marathon despite the short time, Sakura, with tears running down her cheeks, was trying to find her team. She knew they would be busy with the other four enemy shinobi, but it was clear they were her only hope for survival.

"_Why now? WHY NOW?"_ she cried out in her mind. _"Mikoto-sama had warned me two days ago that I could easily be killed, if I do not get the skills to survive! Yet before I could get those skills, I'm going to be killed, and on my first C-rank! This is NOT FAIR!"_

A sudden appearance of a shadow on the ground growing larger made Sakura whirled around and up to see the enemy kunoichi come straight down at her with a katana pose to stab her. The pinkette screamed as she toppled backward onto the ground by the force of her foe's body hitting her. Yet, the katana narrowly missed her, imbedding in the ground just to the left of her chest.

Immediately after being nearly skewered, two male voices, which Sakura recognized, called out her name. "SAKURA!"

"_Sasuke-kun! Naruto!"_ mentally called out Team 7's kunoichi, realizing they must have heard her scream. With hope renewed in her soul, she forcefully pushed off her attacker with her right foot prior to running in the direction of where she had heard her two male peers.

A few moments later, the rookie female ninja burst through some shrubs, only to be facing the backs of the other four mystery enemies, who all turned their heads toward her. Beyond the four foes, her eyes spotted her team.

"Sakura-chan!" called out Naruto in relief upon seeing her, making the pinkette grinned in return.

Yet before she could say something or move, Sakura felt an arm quickly wrapped around her front and before she knew it, the girl felt the blade of a katana posed at her throat. Her attacker had caught up with her and now was in position to eliminate her.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" shouted Naruto in alarm, while Kakashi and Sasuke narrowed their eyes in anger.

Frightened that she was going to die, Sakura closed her eyes and let her tears flowed. _"Mom, Dad, I love you. I'm so sorry, Ino. Our rivalry over Sasuken-kun was quite silly." _She felt the edge of the blade on her skin and knew this was the end. _"Naruto, thank you." _

Suddenly Naruto let out a shout. "KAA-CHAN! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?"

Emerald eyes snapped open in shock. She only knew of one woman that Naruto calls that name.

The hooded female adult raised a hand. "Team Gai, stand down." With that command, the other four relaxed as the katana was withdrawn from Sakura's neck. Only then did the leader pulled back her hood to reveal the Sharingan-eyed and reassuring grinning face of Uchiha Mikoto.

The other four 'enemies' also pulled away their hoods. The adult male, who also gave a reassuring grin, wore his black hair in a bowl cut, while the younger boy besides him was like mirror image of the man. The third boy was obviously a Hyuuga, recognizable to Team 7's three genin. Finally, green eyes turned to the girl, who wore her brown hair in two buns. Yet what surprised Sakura the most was the Leaf symbol on the other kunoichi's hiate-tei.

"You're a Konoha shinobi," Sakura blinked up at the apologetic grinning face.

"Yeah, I am. As I said before, I'm sorry I had to do this, but this was under Uchiha-sama's orders," said the brunette girl.

Before anyone else could speak, Sasuke spoke out. "Mother… I'm guessing that **this** was the plan you had in mind to deal with Kakashi-sensei?"

As her eyes faded back to normal black, Mikoto nodded at her youngest son. "Yes, this was the plan. The whole purpose was to show Kakashi," her eyesight locked onto the silver-haired jounin, "that he better start taking his role as sensei seriously and begin training his team, especially Sakura."

Kakashi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he eye-smiled. "Well, I did notice from the start of this mission that Sakura definitely needed training, Mikoto-sama. I was planning to start her training tomorrow."

Mikoto crossed her arms and slightly smirked. "And if this mission was not given, would you have even on your own started her training?" Kakashi dropped his eye-smile as he shook his head. "I thought so. You saw how vulnerable Sakura was during this mock attack. If this had been a real attack from real enemy shinobi, there is no doubt she would have died."

"I say," Sakura agreed with a shudder. "There were times I thought I was going to die, especially with that sword on my throat." She locked her green eyes with the brown ones of her kunoichi peer. "I'm glad you missed me though."

The bun-haired girl rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, I did miss you on purpose," she admitted a bit sheepishly. "Believe me, I would have easily met my mark, if you were an enemy I have to kill."

Sakura blinked in mild shock and understanding. "Are you saying all these mild cuts, you gave me, were on purpose and not by accident in trying to hit me?"

The older girl nodded an affirmative before launching a shuriken straight up, and when it came down, she flung a kunai at it. The ninja knife caught the shuriken through its hole before imbedding into a tree. The ninja star spun a few times around the kunai before coming to a stop to hang on the blade.

"Wow," Team 7's sole female member said in astonishment at the girl's accuracy. It was clear this girl has quite an eagle's eye.

Smiling proudly at her demonstration, the brown-haired kunoichi turned back to Sakura with a friendly face. "My name is Takehashi Tenten."

"Haruno Sakura," she smiled back, feeling more at ease.

Tenten nodded before thumbing toward the bowl-cut man, who had taken off his cloak to show he was wearing a green spandex suit and jounin vest. "This is my team's sensei."

The man stood tall as he smiled widely at Kakashi's three genin. "Let me introduce myself, youthful students of my eternal rival! I'm Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey! Taijutsu Master, and sensei to my beloved students of Team 9! I'm Maito Gai!" With that, he gave a thumb-up as his teeth shined with a 'ping'.

Team 7's genin all blinked in bewilderment. _"Is this guy for a real?"_ they all asked mentally, while further wondering whether it was a joke that this jounin was Kakashi-sensei's 'eternal rival'.

A grinning Gai turned to face his silver-haired rival. "I'm sure that once you're set on the right path, Kakashi, you'll inject your students with the Flames of Youth that will make them as bright as I do with my students."

Kakashi suddenly blinked, like he was in daze. "Did you say something, Gai?"

"AAAAAAHHHH!" screamed Gai with hands clenching his hair. "Again with that hip attitude of yours, Kakashi!" He lowered his hands but kept one clenched in a fist. "Your coolness knows no bounds for me to one day overcome. That's why you're my rival." Once more, he smiled with a shining 'ping'.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all narrowed their eyes. _"What a freak!"_ they exclaimed in their heads, while Mikoto and Tenten sweatdropped with the younger kunoichi embarrassed at her sensei's display.

Suddenly, the bowl-cut male genin raised his hand enthusiastically. "Me next! Me next!" he called out while jumping up-and-down a bit before stopping. "Let me introduce myself! I'm

Rock Lee! Beautiful Green Wild Beast of Konoha! I will one day become a taijutsu master like Gai-sensei, and I'll show everyone I can do so through hard work!" He clenched a fist before eying Naruto.

"Naruto-kun," Lee continued, "your brief fight with me has shown the rumors I heard were true. You are skillful and Genius of Hard Work, like me!"

Blinking, Naruto pointed to himself. "Genius of Hard Work?"

"That's right!" Lee proclaimed. "You've worked hard to get the skills you have without a bloodline or anything to give you an advantage. I admire people who can rise through hard work to be better."

The whiskered blond simply chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. He liked this guy.

"Lee is right!" Gai spoke out just as loud as his student. "Through hard work and dedication, one's Flames of Youth can become a firestorm!"

"Oh, Gai-sensei!" Lee faced his teacher with twin rivers of happy tears. "You're an inspiration to all!"

"As well as you, my student! Together, we can overcome all obstacles!"

The pair together spun and raised their fists as they suddenly appeared on a beach with crashing waves of water. "TOGETHER!" they yelled out with twin 'pings' from their shining teeth.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in bafflement, while Naruto blinked at the strange sight. Sakura's left eyebrow was twitching as she raised her hands into the 'kai' sign, but Tenten's headshake stopped her. "It's not a genjutsu," the weapons-barring kunoichi stated.

"It's not?" the pinkette asked, not believing such an 'illusion.' Her green eyes once more turned to the strange phenomenon. "Unbelievable!"

The so-called beach and waves suddenly vanished upon hearing a loud throat clearing. The two Green Beasts turned to face a ticked off Uchiha Matriarch, who was glaring at them with crossed arms and a tapping left foot.

A sweatdropping Gai and Lee nervously chuckled as they rubbed the back of the heads. "Sorry, Mikoto-sama," apologized the taijutsu master.

Letting go of her glower, Mikoto sighed as she shook her head a bit. As long as she knew Gai, since he was a genin, the man has always been quite eccentric. It was strange enough that he had chosen Kakashi to be his 'eternal rival,' especially given the two were polar opposites in personalities, but it was now really crazy Gai has created a Mini-Me out of Lee. The 39-year-old mother admitted that Lee has done remarkably well under Gai's tutelage, but she wondered if the child would have been better off from adopting his teacher's wardrobe habits.

After giving a sigh of her own with an embarrassing chuckle, Tenten turned back to her fellow kunoichi. "Anyway," she grinned at Sakura before pointing to the last member of Team Gai, "the last member of my team is—"

"Hyuuga Neji," Naruto interrupted with a slight sneer at the silver-eyed boy. Even after more than a year since meeting him, Hinata's cousin still pissed him off. There had a been a few more times he had seen Neji, and each time, the boy still carried that air of superiority. That has not changed one bit as blue eyes saw how much the older boy now still looked like he thought everyone else was inferior to him.

Tenten blinked. "Do you know each other?"

Sakura slightly frowned, recalling well the incident between Neji and Naruto in the Academy courtyard. Even today, she didn't approve of how the Hyuuga boy was so cruel to his cousin. "Being his classmate, you should remember the incident nearly two years ago regarding a misconception that Naruto was coming on to Hinata, Neji's cousin?"

The bun-haired girl's memories suddenly clicked for her. "Oh, I remember now. It was the talk of the village then." She gave a sheepish grin to Naruto. "Not to mention, you did mention it to me as well, Naruto." The blond boy gave an amused smirk at that.

This time it was Sakura's turn to blink in confusion. "Do you know each other?" she repeated Tenten's earlier question.

The weapons-wielding kunoichi nodded once with a grin. "Yeah, we know each other. Uchiha-sama, Sasuke, and Naruto shop for weapons at my family's weapons shop - Takehashi's Weapons. Four years ago, they had stopped by to check us out, and they've been coming to us ever since." Sakura bobbed her head once in understanding.

Mikoto gave a slight warm grin at Tenten's explanation. In truth, the reason behind the story was the Uchiha's usual weapons supplier had been quite bias against Naruto and had refused to serve him. So, after cutting ties with her clan's old dealer, Mikoto and her sons had searched for a new store to do business with. They had happened to come across the Takehashi family's shop, and after seeing how Naruto was treated like a normal human being, the Uchiha Matriarch had decided to make the Takehashi's their new supplier from that point onward.

Neji narrowed his eyes a bit at his female teammate. "You do business with the Uchiha's?"

Tenten frowned a bit at his attitude, hearing the hidden meaning behind the question. "Yes, my family does business with them. They're good people, Neji. Just because your clan does not associate much with their clan, does not mean every clan and family in Konoha will not associate with them." The Hyuuga simply shook his head and turned back to face Naruto and Sasuke, making the brown-haired girl rolled her eyes at his manners.

Just then, Sakura winced as she felt a sting on one of her many cuts. Seeing this, Tenten took out a scroll and unsealed a first-aid kit. "Let me bandaged your wounds," she offered. "Least I made good they were just nicks and not deep gashes." The pinkette was thankful for that as well as the help in dressing up her injuries.

As Team Gai's kunoichi assisted Team Kakashi's kunoichi, Naruto once again narrowed his eyes at Hinata's family member. "You're still the same jerk."

Neji simply scoffed in reply. "A looser is still a looser. I'm better than you, and Fate has deem me to be the winner, if you ever fight me." Eyelids closed as he shook his head. "I really do not see what Hinata-sama sees in you. Yet it fits that a weak person like her would be friends with a person like you."

Naruto lowly growled as he clenched his hands. He very much wanted to smack this arrogant guy for insulting Hinata like that.

Hyuuga pearl eyes turned so slightly to focus on the Uchiha Heir. "You are a genius, like me, and being a genius, I deem you a worthy opponent. Yet, even you fell before me just moments ago."

Sasuke snorted with a small smirk. "That's only because I didn't knew who I was fighting against. I wouldn't call that fight exactly fair in order to pass judgment that you won. How about you actually fight me one day, and we'll see who is the better fighter."

"We will see," replied Neji, accepting the challenge with a tiny smirk of his own.

With a slight frown, Mikoto addressed the young Hyuuga. "Young man, I'm sure your sensei has taught you to not ever underestimate your opponents, especially when you do not know them well enough to determine their strengths and weaknesses. You may deem Naruto as weak, but can you really be so sure, especially given you do not know everything about him?"

Neji did not hesitate in answering. "It does not matter. Fate says he is weaker than me, thus I will defeat him in a fight nevertheless." The raven-haired woman frowned even more, while Gai sighed and shook his head slightly in disappointment.

Mikoto knew a good percentage of the Hyuuga have a superiority complex, thinking their clan was better than everyone else. Yet even she knew most of them, including Hiashi, were not so blind to underestimate an enemy in battle. To do so was a folly that would get one killed. It was clear that Neji would not ever get promoted to Chuunin with such an outlook, compared to the many Hyuuga chuunin and jounin, who knew better.

Deep down, the Uchiha mother knew the reason behind Neji's cold personality. It left her feeling nothing but pity and sorrow for him, wondering whether he would feel happiness ever again.

Putting aside such feelings, the sole Uchiha kunoichi addressed everyone. "Anyway, I'd personally paid for the missions of both teams," she smiled knowingly at her sons, "so yes, boys, you will get paid for this, even though it was not technically a real mission." Her head turned to face Kakashi. "And before you ask, Kakashi, yes, Hokage-sama is aware of this. When I told him of you neglecting training your team, he'd approved of this lesson plan for you."

After crossing her arms, Mikoto continued her lecture. "I always believe that prior to a genin team getting their first C-rank mission, they need to be better in skills and knowledge than they were during the Academy. Other words, they need to know tree-climbing, water-walking, tree-hopping, etc. After all, since the team is venturing outside the village for the first time, they would need to know such skills in order to survive, just in case their jounin-sensei **can't** help them."

Kakashi bowed his head and nodded in understanding upon hearing the emphasized word. It was clear he has a lot to make up for.

Upon seeing Tenten has finished dressing up Sakura's wounds, Mikoto grinned kindly to Gai. "Gai, lead both teams back to Konoha. I need to speak to Kakashi alone now. We'll catch up, when we're finish."

"Hai, Mikoto-sama!" Gai agreed with a single thumbs-up, before he spoke to the six genin. "Let us get going! We'll back it back by dinner to fill in your youthful bellies!"

"Well, someone has to carry me then!" whined Sakura. "I do not know how to tree-hop…" She cast a glare at her jounin-sensei. "Yet!" Kakashi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and gave a nervous chuckle. If looks could kill, the pinkette's sure would do it.

Suddenly, Lee was kneeling on the ground right in front of Sakura, startling both her and Tenten in the process. He was so fast; they didn't even notice his approach. "Oh, beautiful Sakura-chan! Let me carry you! I'll be your shining knight and will protect you from all dangers!"

Neji has closed his eyes, trying not to twitch. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Naruto was snickering, and Tenten blinked in amazement, seeing this was the first time her teammate has shown any interest in a girl.

Sakura, in the meantime, was twitching her left eye in fright as she gazed into dark eyes that had suddenly turned into hearts of love. Not to mention how creepy those giant eyebrows of his were. Unable to help herself, she suddenly screamed, "AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Before anyone knew it, she had punched Lee on the top of the head so hard; he slammed down into the ground face first.

Everyone blinked at the scene of Lee's legs hanging out in the air with one leg twitching, except Neji, who his usual self, and Naruto, who was laughing so hard.

"Sorry, Lee-san," Sakura apologized with a sheepish grin. "You startled me, and I have to decline your offer. We've just met, and you're a stranger to me, despite being Leaf comrades."

A still-blinking Kakashi leaned over to whisper to Mikoto. "And you said she's not ready?"

Mikoto, still blinking herself, was amazed how much power Sakura has wield in that one punch. Yet she quickly dismissed it as a quick adrenaline rush upon being startled by Lee. After all, she has seen almost similar events done by civilian women.

A grinning Lee speedily stood up straight and tall, looking like he was okay. "Ah, you are right, Sakura-san. I apologize to you. Let I meant it before, that I'll be there to help protect you when needed."

"Ummm… Thanks," Sakura warily accepted at the same time Tenten was rolling her eyes. The bun-haired girl knew Lee was laying it on too thick.

Knowing she would need someone to give her a ride, Sakura ruled out Gai-sensei, given how much the man was like Lee and vice-versa. Neji was out due to his cold nature. Naruto she could trust, but she was not in the mood to hear any jokes from him. That left Tenten and… "Oh, Sasuke-kun, can you give me a lift?"

Sasuke sighed, knowing it was best to carry her back. So, he strolled over and bent down to allow his female teammate to climb onto this back. With his hands holding her thighs and her arms around his chest, the living heir of the Uchiha Clan rose up again. "Do not read anything into this, Sakura, got it? I'm just helping a friend."

"I understand," Sakura nodded, remembering her promise to stop pursuing the boy and try to be friends with him instead.

Inner-Sakura, however, was having a ball. "OH, YEAH! FEEL THOSE MUSCLES! FEEL THOSE HANDS TOUCHING MY THIGHS! LET'S HUMP THIS MAN!"

Sakura immediately squashed such perverted thoughts from her mind. Yet, she couldn't help but feel a tad satisfying in finally getting this close to Sasuke,

With all the genin ready, Gai leaped into the trees, heading toward the direction of Konoha. Neji followed, and Sasuke, with Sakura, was behind the Hyuuga.

Lee, however, lingered behind for a minute or two as he raised a fist with fire blazing in his eyes. "I will pursue the lovely Sakura-san! My Flames of Youth sings for her!" With that said, he took to the trees to follow the others.

Walking up to stand besides Team Gai's kunoichi as she finished storing away her first-aid kit in a scroll, Naruto chuckled. "Well, you weren't kidding, when you said your teammates were quite eccentric."

"Yeah," an amused Tenten admitted with a shrug. "Yet, they're skillful and know what they're doing. I'm used to them now, even though their eccentric personalities still make me roll my eyes at times." Naruto laughed with her.

After her giggles died down, the brunette, teen kunoichi continued. "So… What about you? I had a hunch you and Sasuke would be teamed up, but what can you tell me about Sakura?" She leaped into the trees, followed by Naruto.

"Well, it's like this…" the blonde's voice gradually trailed off as he and Tenten grew further apart in distance from Hatake and the Uchiha Clan Head.

Kakashi eye-smiled at the interaction between Naruto and Gai's female student. "Well, that was a surprise to me. I never knew Naruto and Sasuke knew about Tenten." He let out a sigh with a defeated look. "Knowing Gai, he'll likely offer to have our teams train together, now that he knows of the link between the boys and his kunoichi student."

Mikoto giggled at Kakashi's expression. As far as she was concerned, it might not be a bad idea for genin teams to cross-train with each other, for the jounin-sensei of one team might be more ideal suited to teach certain skills.

As for Tenten, the Uchiha Matriarch couldn't have a better example out of her sons' generation of what the mindset of a kunoichi should be. Her boys respected the bun-haired ninja as a fighter, and being around the weapons-loving girl might be a good benefit to Sakura as well.

Crossing her arms, the 39-year-old sighed, before giving the younger man a serious yet soft expression. "Kakashi-kun… You have to move on. I know how much Obito's death has affected you, but now that you finally have a genin team under your wings, you have to take their training seriously. Stop with constantly mourning in front of the Memorial Stone. "

"I know," the silver-haired jounin sighed. "I thought I could wait, until they've developed their teamwork first."

A dark feminine eyebrow rose on that. "And what good is teamwork with one member being way underdeveloped compare to the other two?" Kakashi grimaced. "Uh, huh, now you know. I'm not saying that Sakura should be pushed so hard to catch up with the boys. That's impossible. Yet, as you stated before, you realized her skills should be brought up to a reasonable level, so she would not be so vulnerable on her own."

Taking the few steps to stand before him, Mikoto placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder as she looked up into his face, him being taller than her despite her being older than him. The matured woman grinned kindly. "Kakashi-kun, did Minato ever neglect any of his students?"

A real grin came to the Copy Ninja's face, while his mind recalled the memories. "No, he didn't," he acknowledged with a trace of sadness. "Despite the war, Minato-sensei did his best to train each of us equally. He had never neglected us."

"Precisely," Mikoto warmly grinned. "Knowing Minato, he definitely would agree with me that you should get off your ass and take your role as a teacher seriously."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head as he gave his eye-smile. "Well, knowing Kushina-sama, she definitely would kick my ass."

Mikoto laughed out loud, and when her amusement died down a bit, she nodded with a knowing smirk. "Oh, yes. Kushina definitely would literally kick your ass for being such a lazy teacher, especially when it comes to her son."

Feeling the comfortable silence between them and knowing he was going to fulfill his role as a sensei from now on, the raven-haired mother took a step back. She broke the stillness with a reassuring grin. "I know you'll do okay as a teacher, Kakashi-kun. Presently, Naruto is trying to master his wind chakra, and Sasuke maybe ready to learn a second element. Sakura will definitely need your help, not only in learning new skills but also to find her niche as a kunoichi."

The elite jounin nodded in understanding. "Since her parents are not shinobi, she didn't have the benefits of any training through out the Academy. As for what type of kunoichi she would become, I have to see what she is good at."

"She is quite a blank slate," agreed Mikoto. "It was clear to me when I had started training Sasuke and Naruto that the boys would become front-line combat specialists, specialty in ninjutsu with taijutsu and some kenjutsu. Sakura have some genjutsu and have great chakra control from the records I read; yet it's not clear whether she would or should become a genjutsu specialist as Kurenai-chan. If she is to become an effective member of the team, she has to offer some sort of support for Naruto and Sasuke."

"That means she will have to learn combat skills that will help Naruto and Sasuke," Kakahi pointed out. "Maybe taijutsu will suit her."

"Possible," the experienced kunoichi said before a knowing grin appeared on her face. "Yet given her chakra control, there is one specialty that might suit her."

After raising a curious eyebrow, Kakashi thought about it before suddenly realizing what Mikoto meant. "Do you really think Sakura's suited for that?"

Mikoto shrugged but still kept her smile. "I did said, 'might', Kakashi-kun. She has the control and the smarts, but it is up to you to figure out where Sakura fits." The Copy Nin gave a single nod in acknowledgment.

"Anyway," the Uchiha Matriarch mentioned, feeling things were now going to be all right, "let us catch up to the others." With that said, she shot up into the trees, followed by Kakashi. The two of them tree-hopped with speed toward Gai, the two genin teams, and home.

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**For a young, fledging ninja, he or she would be influenced and molded into the type of warrior he or she would eventually come. A single student would be shaped by one person or by several people.**

**It was clear that Uchiha Mikoto has played a major role in shaping the lives of Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, yet she also was the source in molding other lives as well. Haruno Sakura had said in her diaries that she had two role models she respected and looked up too. She sited the Uchiha Matriarch as one, stating if it weren't for Mikoto she would have perhaps had taken longer to realize the seriousness of shinobi life or worse, been killed in action at a very young age.**

**That night, when she was tossed into the pond, was the starting point for Haruno. She would walk on the path that would lead her to become a legend to match that of her teammates. A legend of one of the strongest and smartest kunoichi in all of known history...**

**The Legend of the Firestorm Blossom.**

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TBC (End of Chapter 7)

A/Ns:

1) I can already hear some of you are saying that Neji and Lee couldn't be on equal level to Sasuke and Naruto in their brief fight. Well, if you had paid attention, Mikoto and Team Gai were under cloaks and hoods, thus Team Kakashi did not know who their opponents were. Sasuke was not aware he was fighting a Hyuuga until Neji closed off his chakra points. Lee's sensei happens to be a taijutsu **master**, thus the fighting form Mikoto taught Sasuke and Naruto was good, but only good enough to least make the boys even with Lee, who uses solely taijutsu, while the boys was trained in other things besides taijutsu.

Of course, there was the brief fight Kakashi had, and that was a no brainer, given how much Gai knows his rival's abilities. Not to mention, Kakashi simply can't match a real Sharingan user in Mikoto.

Oh… I'm sure no one is complaining how much I had Tenten trounced Sakura. Tenten has a year of experience and skills, while Sakura has yet to even start on tree-climbing and water-walking. Poor, poor Sakura.

2) I like to be on record that Mikoto's opinions, regarding how much a genin team should be trained before going on their first C-rank outside the village, are pretty much my own. I was absolutely amazed that Team 7 in canon did not know how to tree-climb or water-walk until **after** they were in deep in a C-rank mission turned deadly A-rank. Like should a genin team be properly trained before venturing out on their first C-rank?

So, I had Mikoto taught Kakashi a lesson to start training his team and be serious about it. Naruto and Sasuke may already have the skills to handle a C-rank without problems, but Sakura was the weakest link. If she does not get some good skills in order to survive on her own, she's good as dead. A matter of fact, during the Wave arc in canon, she could have easily been killed if it weren't for her male teammates protecting her. Go figure. (roll eyes)

3) Last, this is a message to all of you waiting for the final chapter (Chapter 18) of "Unexpected Love" to come out.

I'd finished the chapter at the end of July but decided to delay posting it. I have a 'gift' for everyone in the form of an art I'd commissioned for this chapter of UL. Once the art is finished, I'll post the chapter with the link/URL to the art. Trust me, I'm sure it will be worth the wait once you see the art. :)

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Next Chapter: A Shinobi's First Flight


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